Imphal: Police fired tear gas shells on Thursday evening to disperse a mob that had gathered at Khwairanband Bazaar in the heart of Imphal where the body of a man killed earlier in the morning in a gunfight in Kangpokpi district was brought and placed in a traditional coffin.
Demonstrators gathered and a mob threatened to carry it in a procession to the chief minister’s residence, officials said. In the melee, a BJP office was also attacked.
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state so far.
Clashes first broke out on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Rahul visits relief camps
After being denied entry to the state, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited relief camps in Churachandpur. He had to take a helicopter to reach his destination.
While interacting with the inmates in relief camps set up at a school and a college there, where around 200 people are camped, Rahul Gandhi said, “Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority.”
The blocking of his convoy triggered a political slugfest as the Congress alleged that the BJP-led government is trying to thwart the leader’s visit, while the saffron party accused him of being “stubborn” and choosing to take the road trip even though he was advised to take a chopper as his trip was opposed by various quarters.
“People of all communities are very welcoming and loving. It’s very unfortunate that the government is stopping me,” Gandhi tweeted.
“I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur. Manipur needs healing. Peace has to be our only priority,” he said in the Twitter post.
Earlier in the day, a large number of people, mostly women, gathered near the spot and demonstrated both for and against the visit.
Gandhi’s supporters demanded that he be allowed to go to Churachandpur, referring to the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah there late last month.
One of the demonstrating women said, “If Amit Shah could go to Churachandpur, why not Rahul Gandhi?”
