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Manipur Constable Held Over Protest Violence, VDF Member Shot in 'Controlled' Firing

The arrests and use of force signal fraying trust in security institutions across the state.

Overview

  • Police in Imphal East arrested two protesters Tuesday along National Highway-02, including constable Thoudam Gojendro Singh, who officers say burned debris and hurled stones with slingshots at security forces at the Koirengei crossing.
  • Security personnel carried out what police called controlled firing near Heirok as a crowd advanced toward a government event, and Village Defence Force member Elangbam Nandbir Singh sustained a gunshot wound that required surgery.
  • Kangpokpi district imposed an indefinite curfew from 6 pm Tuesday, with the magistrate citing threats to life and property along key stretches of NH-02.
  • The unrest follows the April 7 killing of an infant and a toddler by a rocket-like projectile in Bishnupur, and Meitei groups have kept the children’s bodies in a morgue while demanding an investigation and closing markets during a shutdown.
  • Senior officers told ThePrint that some personnel have aligned along ethnic lines since the 2023 violence, a split that complicates neutral policing and could cloud public faith in any inquiry into the children’s deaths.