With protests continuing to rock Manipur’s central valley, protesters attempted to storm a government event attended by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, resulting in one person being injured when security forces applied force to disperse them.
In the past week, there have been multiple rallies nearly every night, including massive ones with hundreds of protesters carrying torches in defiance of night curfew, and many have ended in clashes with security forces. These protests are playing out across Manipur’s central valley after two Meitei children were killed in a projectile attack on their home in Bishnupur on April 7.
On Tuesday, protests erupted when news spread of the Chief Minister’s scheduled plan to inaugurate a new Block Development Office in Thoubal district. The location of the function was around 20 km from the heart of Imphal.
With protesters blocking roads to the function venue and issuing boycott calls, the Chief Minister ultimately did not travel to the venue by road but by helicopter instead.
He landed at the Khongjom Phundrei Assam Rifles camp by helicopter at 1.30 pm, and as news spread of the visit, crowds gathered along the road from Khongjom to the venue to block his passage. To disperse protesters at Khongjom market, Samaram crossing and other points, security forces deployed various means, including teargas shells.
He finally reached the venue at 3 pm, about an hour late. Before his arrival, several protesters surrounded the site and tried to storm it, prompting security forces to deploy force.
In a statement, Manipur police said, “During the Hon’ble Chief Minister’s visit, a large group of individuals armed with stones and catapults advanced toward the function site with apparent intent to vandalise the newly constructed BDO office. Despite repeated warnings and appeals by police personnel to disperse, the crowd continued to move aggressively, posing a serious threat to public property, dignitaries present, and overall law and order.”
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“In view of the escalating situation, minimum necessary force was applied. As a last resort, controlled firing was undertaken in strict adherence to established protocols to disperse the mob and neutralise the threat. During the course of this action, one individual who was part of the violent mob, Shri Elangbam Nandbir Singh (40), resident of Heirok Part 2 Elangbam Leirak and currently serving as VDF SPO A-Coy, sustained an injury,” it added.
The programme took place despite the incidents, and after the event, CM Khemchand said, “The new Block Development Office will enhance administrative efficiency, streamline service delivery, and ensure timely, transparent, and hassle-free access to public services. The government remains firmly committed to its vision of peace, good governance, and inclusive development.”
Separately, while the valley continues to be on the boil, a three-day “shutdown” announced by the United Naga Council in the Naga-majority areas of Manipur came into effect on Tuesday. This shutdown has been announced by this apex Naga group in protest against the killing of two Naga people in an ambush attack in Ukhrul district on April 18.
This, too, saw a confrontation when supporters of the bandh blocked an entrance road to S. Changoubung, a village located in Kangpokpi district at the border with the Naga-majority Senapati district.
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According to official sources, local villagers attempted to remove the blockade, and a scuffle broke out, which later escalated into stone-pelting between both sides, and heightened tension in the area. A police team led by the respective SPs of Kangpokpi and Senapati, along with CAPF personnel, rushed to the spot to disperse the situation.
Subsequently, Kangpokpi district authorities have imposed curfew in the district until further notice.
