Imphal, Oct 21 A large number of protesters demonstrating against the recent killing of three Meitei men in Manipur on Wednesday clashed with the police outside a sports complex in Imphal when Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh was attending an event inside, an officer said.
Militants ambushed 14 Meitei men, killing three of them, when they were collecting firewood in Sunurok hills in Kangpokpi district on October 19.
Women protesters attempted to storm the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, where the CM and state Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam were attending the first Manipur Poomsae Taekwondo Championship. Delegates from South Korea were participating in the event.
The protesters asserted that the chief minister and home minister cannot attend a sports event by ignoring the prevailing law and order situation when innocent people were being killed.
Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the demonstrators, leading to minor injuries to three persons.
At Khabeisoi in Imphal East district, protesters burnt effigies of Rajya Sabha MP A Sharda Devi and Konthoujam in another demonstration against the killings.
Several Meira Paibi (woman activists) also gathered at the residence of Sharda Devi at Brahmapur in Imphal East district to question her “silence” on the killings. They later left the place after Devi assured them, through a video call, that their demands would be conveyed to the government.
Normal life remained affected in all five Imphal Valley districts as markets were closed and public transport off the roads due to a 48-hour shutdown called by the Native People Committee Manipur from Tuesday midnight against the killings.
Police, meanwhile, said miscreants claiming to be volunteers enforcing the shutdown on Tuesday “manhandled” four daily-wagers near Pechi village in Thoubal district, resulting in injuries to one of them.
“Upon receiving information about the incident, police promptly responded and rescued all four individuals and registered a suo moto case,” a senior officer said.
Manipur has been in the grip of an ethnic conflict between the valley-based Meitei and hill-based Kuki communities since May 2023 that has claimed at least 306 lives while several remain missing. Also, clashes between Kukis and Nagas in the state have led to the death of around 50 people since February this year.
(PTI News)
