Manipur: Tensions erupt as mob storms Kangpokpi police station against security deployment, SP seen bleeding

Tensions flared in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district of Manipur on Friday evening as protesters demanded the withdrawal of security forces deployed at Uyokching, a location in Kangpokpi district bordering Imphal West. Kangpokpi SP M Prabhakar was among those injured in the incident.

Protesters stormed the Kangpokpi police station on Friday evening, pelting stones amid anger over the continued deployment of central forces particularly the BSF and the CRPF in the village.

Among purported visuals that surfaced, one showed Kangpokpi SP Prabhakar bleeding from his head.

The unrest occurred amid an ongoing indefinite economic blockade and a 24-hour total shutdown, both by Kuki-Zo groups, protesting deployment of central security forces in Saibol, a neighboring village of Uyokching.

The police were forced to disperse the crowd using tear gas, leading to several injuries among the protesters.

Further details are awaited as authorities prepare an official statement.

Economic blockade by tribal body

An economic blockade by a tribal body was observed in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas in Manipur on Friday to protest against alleged action by security forces on women in a village in Kangpokpi district.

Another organisation, Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), also observed a 24-hour shutdown in the district to protest against the alleged baton charge on women on December 31 in Saibol village.

The tribal body Kuki-Zo Council said the economic blockade that started from midnight of January 2 would continue till 2 am on Saturday to protest against “disregard for tribal rights and dignity”.

Vehicular movement and transportation of essential commodities passing through the Kuki-Zo inhabited areas would be restricted during the blockade, the organisation said.

Kuki Zo Council would intensify its protest if the women injured in the alleged baton charge by security forces are not compensated, the tribal body’s chairman Henlienthang Thanglet said in Churachandpur.

“The economic blockade will be reimposed if the government fails to maintain the buffer zone’s sanctity which is in the hands of the administration,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

A clash broke out between a mob led by Kuki-Zo women and security forces in Kangpokpi district on Tuesday, triggering fresh tensions in the ethnic strife-hit state.

The incident occurred after the mob tried to “disrupt” the deployment of a combined team of Army, BSF and CRPF, the police had said in a post on X.