Imphal/Guwahati
Violent protests led by students that broke out on Tuesday over the death of two youths in Manipur continued to play havoc with the Chief Minister himself coming under attack. An angry mob attempted to attack Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s ancestral home, but security forces foiled the attempt using tear gas and barricades.
Earlier, a mob vandalised the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Imphal West and torched a couple of four-wheelers. A BJP office at Khongjam in Thoubal district was also set on fire. Two groups of people came from different directions and approached the CM’s ancestral residence but they were stopped through several rounds of tear gas shells and state police personnel.
The State as well as the Centre has been expecting the violence as they immediately handed over the case to the CBI, which tasked its Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar to unravel the abduction and killing of two students aged 17 and 20 years and deputed a specialised team to assist him.
The fresh bout of violence involving students started on Tuesday after photos of the two youths — one in which they were alive with two suspected Kuki militants behind them and the other of two bodies —went viral on social media. The two have been missing since July 6.
The protesters on Wednesday clashed with security personnel in Uripok, Yaiskul, Sagolband and Tera areas, blocked roads with burning tyres, boulders and iron pipes to prevent the security forces from entering residential areas. Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells to control the situation.
As a mob vandalised the DC office and torched two four-wheelers, curfew was re-imposed in Imphal East and West districts. As many as 65 protesters, many girl students among them, sustained injuries as they indulged in violent demonstrations since Tuesday.
In a statement, the Manipur Police said that a mob targetted a police vehicle and burnt it, while assaulting a policeman and snatching his weapon. Stern action will be taken against those indulging in such crimes, it said, adding that a search operation was underway for the recovery of the snatched arms and the arrest of the accused.
The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights, meanwhile, urged the security forces not to use lathi charge, tear gas shells and rubber bullets “arbitrarily and abruptly” against teenagers.
Meanwhile, the parents of both the murdered youths pleaded with authorities to locate the remains of their children so that the last rights of the boy and the girl can be conducted with the dignity they deserve. They hoped that with the CBI joining the investigation, they will be able to locate their bodies.
