Manipur: ‘Protest march’ taken out in violation of curfew, police fired teargas shells, 30 people injured

Imphal (IANS). Over 30 protesters, including women, were injured in clashes with security forces in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Wednesday. Police also fired several rounds of teargas shells to disperse thousands of men and women trying to break the security barricade at Fogakchao Ikhai. This information was provided by officers.

Thousands of people from different districts gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district, kilometers away from the tribal-dominated Churachandpur district. They took out a ‘protest march’ defying the curfew, the government’s appeal and the unprecedented deployment of central and state security forces. During this he tried to remove the army barricade.

Manipur Coordination Committee on Integrity (COCOMI), a prominent organization of the Meitei community, and its women’s wing took out a protest march to remove the army barricade. Locals claim that army barricades prevent them from going to their homes in Torbung. The area was evacuated after ethnic violence broke out on May 3.

Police and COCOMI leaders said the injured have been admitted to hospitals.

Hundreds and thousands of men and women from different valley districts also blocked roads to stop the movement of security forces, which were going from Imphal and other valley districts towards Phougakchao Ikhai.

According to Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Loop (AMKIL) president Lourembam Nganbi, hundreds of people from the Meitei community fled their homes in Torbung and surrounding areas after ethnic violence broke out on May 3 and were unable to return to their homes due to the army barricade. Are unable to.

“We are demanding that those who are willing to go or return to their homes in Torbung and surrounding areas be allowed to go or return to their homes,” Nganbi said.

Anticipating serious law and order problems, the Manipur government on Wednesday canceled curfew relaxation in five Meitei-dominated Valley districts and massive security measures were put in place in view of the protest march called by COCOMI.

Officials said a complete curfew has been imposed in all the five districts of the Valley – Bishnupur, Kakching, Thoubal, Imphal West and Imphal East – and a large contingent of security forces has been deployed in various districts as a precautionary measure from Tuesday evening.

For the past several weeks, curfew was relaxed from 5 am to 6 pm in all the five districts of the Valley. The state government has also appealed to COCOMI to call off the protest march on Tuesday night.

Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Ranjan said that the government has already removed several barricades in different parts of the state. Besides this, around 700 displaced people of Torbung area, who were taking shelter in various relief camps, have started returning to their original houses which were not damaged during the last few days.

COCOMI’s media coordinator Somendro Thokchom said the organization had previously urged the government and relevant authorities to remove the barricade at Phougakchao Ikhai by August 30.