Protestors take out march defying curfew in Manipur, several injured

GUWAHATI: At least 25-30 people were injured in Manipur on Wednesday when security personnel fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse a mob that went out defying curfew and allegedly attempted to break through Army barricades.

The violence broke out at Phougakchao in Meitei-majority Bishnupur district. The site is close to Kuki-majority Churachandpur district. The two districts have remained on the boil ever since the ethnic violence between the two communities broke out on May 3.

According to locals, some of the injured were admitted to hospitals in Moirang, Bishnupur and state capital Imphal.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an influential Meitei civil society organisation, had appealed to people to take part in a march till the border of Churachandpur. Thousands of protesters had come out on Wednesday responding to the call.

Apprehending trouble, the authorities had clamped “full curfew” in all five districts of Meitei-majority Imphal valley – Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching.

Security was also heightened in Bishnupur as well as Churachandpur districts. Joint columns of security forces were deployed at Phougakchao while personnel of the Rapid Action Force were mobilised.

The COCOMI had earlier asked the government to remove the Army barricades put up in a “buffer zone”, by August 30.

“There are Meitei lands beyond the barricades. We want our land back. This is the reason behind the march,” the COCOMI said.

Meanwhile, the United Naga Council, which is Manipur’s apex Naga organisation, urged the state and central governments to take necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities across the state.

“Unwarranted checking/frisking/detentions/unloading of essential commodities and various strictures imposing upon Naga people and unabated illegal taxation/extortion towards the commuters and suppliers of essential commodities along the National Highways and Inter-District highways should be stopped once and for all,” the UNC said in a statement.

It demanded that the ongoing “economic blockade” imposed by the Committee on Tribal Unity, a Kuki-Zo organisation, along two national highways be lifted immediately in the interest of all communities living in the state.