The situation in Manipur remained tensed after thousands of people defied the prohibitory orders in the Imphal West district in protest over the killing of two children - five-year-old Oinam Tomthin and his five-month-old sister Oinam Yaisana - in a bomb attack last week, clashing with security forces, said officials on Friday.
According to news agency PTI, thousands of people had gathered for the rally around 7 pm on Thursday at Singjamei. While demanding the arrest of the three accused responsible for the April 7 blast at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district, the protestors clashed with security personnel and even verbally abused them.
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- The officials said the rally continued for nearly 2 kilometres before reaching Chingamathak, which is near Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh's bungalow, the police headquarters and the Lok Bhavan.
- The security personnel asked the protestors to return due to the prohibitory orders, but they refused, which led to the confrontation.
- The security forces were heavily outnumbered and fired several rounds of tear gas shells and resorted to baton charges to bring the situation under control and disperse the crowd.
- To this, the agitators pelted stones, which only escalated the situation. The clashes led to minor injuries to five persons, who were shifted to a local hospital for treatment.
- "There are elements trying to take advantage of the prevailing situation in the state for their respective anti-government and anti-security forces agendas," PTI quoted an official as saying.
- This was the second time in around two days when people clashed with security forces over the Bishnupur incident. On Tuesday, violence erupted in Thingungei after some reports claimed that "suspicious persons" were moving in the area with arms.
- Talking about the Bishnupur incident, the government has said that it is acting as required and has urged people to provide it with some time to ensure that the investigation gets completed.
- "It takes time to find out the real culprits. Allow the government some time. I appeal to all the people of Manipur to allow the government to do its duty," Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam told reporters on Tuesday.
- Meanwhile, representatives of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) for the Bishnupur incident met CM Singh on Thursday, discussing the demands put forth by them. They were accompanied by the victims' family members.
- On the other hand, CM Singh has said that the overall situation in the state has significantly improved following concerted efforts of the government and security agencies. "It is encouraging to note that, through the concerted efforts of the government and security agencies, the overall situation has shown significant improvement," he said.
