Imphal: More than 25 people, mostly women, were injured after security forces fired several rounds of teargas shells to disperse thousands of protesters who tried to breach security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Wednesday, officials said.
The injured have been rushed to Bishnupur district hospital and other nearby facilities for treatment, they said.
Defying curfew, hundreds of locals came out of their houses at Oinam in Bishnupur district and sat in the middle of a road to block the movement of police and other central forces’ personnel who were on their way to Phougakchao Ikhai from Imphal, officials said.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the leading valley-based Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), called for a mass rally and planned to march towards the Bishnupur and Churachandpur border to remove the barricades set up by the Army along the National Highway.
Despite a curfew in place in Imphal valley, a large number of people from diverse backgrounds on Wednesday attended the mass rally organised by COCOMI. The protest march began at Kwakta ground but was stopped by security forces at Phougakchao Ikhai. At the same time, a sit-in protest was happening at Phougakchao Ikhai. COCOMI’s rally aimed to remove Army barricades along the National Highway, particularly from Phougakchao Ikhai to the Torbung Bangla community hall, where Meitei houses are located.
Heavy security forces deployed along the highway fired tear gas and mock bombs to disperse the crowd gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district.
The state government had appealed to COCOMI to withdraw their planned mass protest scheduled for September 6, as they had already removed some barricades and sought COCOMI’s cooperation. Approximately 700 displaced individuals from the Torbung area have started returning to their original homes over the past few days.