At least 40 persons were injured in clashes with security forces in Manipur’s Imphal on Thursday evening, the authorities at hospitals where they have been admitted told Scroll. The injuries were minor and most of them have been discharged.
The clashes erupted during a rally held by members of the Golapati Hatta Youth Volunteers Organisation as a protest against the killing of two Meitei students. The protestors were marching towards Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s ancestral home when security forces opened fire at them, said Raees Ahmed Tampak, the spokesperson of United Meitei-Pangal Committee.
Most of those injured were Muslims as the Golapati Hatta Youth Volunteers Organisation represents interests of the Pangal Muslim community.
Manipur, which has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities since early May, saw renewed violence this week after the state government said that two students who went missing in July have been murdered.
Hijam Linthoingambi (17) and Phijam Hemjit (20) are suspected to have been killed by Kuki militants, according to the Imphal police. Their last location was traced to a tourist spot in the Churachandpur district on July 6.
In a separate incident in Imphal East district on Thursday night, a mob attempted to storm the chief minister’s ancestral home. The security forces managed to disperse the mob before they could enter the house compound.
On Friday morning, the situation in the Imphal Valley remained tense, PTI reported. The curfews imposed in Imphal East and Imphal West districts have been relaxed from 5 am to 11 pm to let residents buy essential items and medicines.
The relaxation, however, will not apply to “any gathering or large-scale movement of persons or sit-in protests which is unlawful in nature”, an official order stated.
Also read: In a first, security forces rain pellets on protesters in Imphal
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