Children take shelter after smoke from tear gas enters their classroom in Imphal
Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:
The Manipur Police today fired tear gas shells, rubber bullets and lathi-charged hundreds of internally displaced people who held protests in Imphal valley over the government’s alleged inaction on working out a plan to send them back home in the border town Moreh.
The protesters have been living in relief camps in Imphal’s Akampat after they were driven out of their homes in Moreh when ethnic violence broke out between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis in May 2023.
The protesters said they have been living in the relief camps under harsh conditions for a long time and want to return home, for which the government should ensure security and funds to rebuild what they have lost.
The police had not given permission to hold the protest since the assembly session is going on, sources said. Hundreds of protesters, however, came out on the streets holding placards and shouting slogans, following which the police began the crowd-control offensive.
Visuals show smoke from teargas shells that landed at a school entering classrooms where primary class children were studying. Many coughed and rubbed their eyes as teachers tried to comfort them. Others hid behind desks and chairs.
Another video of policemen assaulting a local reporter has gone viral. He was later hospitalised. Several protesters were also injured.
The police said protesters threw stones and other objects at them.
During the assembly session, the ruling BJP government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh has been defending against the Opposition Congress’s charge that his government has not been able to bring normalcy to Manipur, 15 months since ethnic clashes erupted.
The protesters were stopped by the police in Imphal’s Singjamei. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) joined the police in crowd control.
The border town Moreh is out of bounds for the Meitei community. The Kuki tribes, too, have left Imphal valley, while Meiteis who have been living in hill areas in southern Manipur and some other areas have fled to the state capital.
The state government has not yet announced a concrete plan on how to ensure all internally displaced people can return home. Sources said this would be possible only after talks between leaders of the two communities agree on a solution.
The Chief Minister yesterday said in the assembly 226 people have died in the violence, and 59,000 have been internally displaced.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.