Manipur's volatile Kangpokpi witnessed a violent confrontation between a group of agitators and police on Friday evening that left several injured including Superintendent of Police (SP) M Prabhakar.
The agitating mob pelted stones at Manipur Police after the tear gas was used to disperse them in front of the SP office, reports said. Despite a police crackdown, Kangpokpi protestors refused to retreat and stood their ground on the highway near the SP office, local media added.
Earlier the day, the SP Prabhakar had promised representatives of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) to replace the current security forces stationed at Saibol with teams from Kangpokpi Police and other locally-based units. In the Kuki-inhabited Saibol, security personnel from the Valley were stationed, India Today NE said in a report.
๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ช๐ฆ!! #๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ
— Bikramjit Kangabam (@BikramjitMK) January 3, 2025
๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฝ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฝ๐ถ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ
๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐โผ๏ธ#KukiZo mob have stormed and are attacking the SP office in #Kangpokpi right now, throwing stones andโฆ pic.twitter.com/JOm4MQT922
On Tuesday, security forces had clashed with residents in Saibol during an area domination exercise causing injuries to 20 women. A joint team of security forces were then deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incidents.
During his interaction with the CoTU leaders, the SP agreed to their demand to replace BSF and CRPF men with local police and asked for three hours to send fresh units to Saibol.ย
However, the locals were irked as the promised replacement didn't happen within the mutually agreed time. Around 7:00 PM, people started gathering Kangpokpi and it soon took the shape of a protest.
Kuki Militants now target SP and DC office #Kangpokpi, the other district dominated by Kuki. A repeat of burning down DC office in #Churachandpur epicenter of #Manipur violence.
— Meitei Heritage Society (@meiteiheritage) January 3, 2025
Has @AmitShah @PMOIndia @NBirenSingh @official_dgar @manipur_police succumbed to Kuki separatist? pic.twitter.com/lVaQikrGh5
As the angry started marching towards the SP office, Manipur Police personnel stationed at the building used force to disperse the crowd, the report said. As they fired tear gas at the already volatile mob, they retaliated violently, hurting several police officers including the Superintendent.ย
Police vehicles parked within the SP office were damaged as the angry mob threw rocks and other projectiles at them, news agency PTI reported.