Security forces battled protesters in the Imphal market area almost through Thursday night after the agitators’ plan to carry the body of a civilian killed in the violence to the chief minister’s bungalow was foiled by the police.
Emotion was already running high following the death of two people from the valley in an “attack from the hills” in the peripheral area of Imphal West district early on Thursday.
The deceased was brought to Ima Market, one of the largest women’s markets in the world, late afternoon and soon hordes of people poured in to pay their respect.
When the police tried to take the body to the morgue, a heated exchange ensued between the cops and the public who wanted to take the body to the chief minister’s bungalow as “proof of growing civilian deaths in the ongoing unrest”.
The cops managed to take the body by dispersing the crowd with the help of stun guns and tear gas but it triggered a strong counterreaction that plunged the market area into chaos.
The crowd torched a “small” police outpost located close to the market before trying to target other official properties and the BJP state headquarters nearby, sources said.
With tempers escalating and people pouring in from all sides, the security forces resorted to firing blanks, stun guns and tear gas shells. Official sources said the face-off turned worrisome around 7pm and continued till 2am. About 10 persons suffered injuries.
The situation turned so bad that chief minister N. Biren Singh told a group of confidantes on Thursday evening that it would be better for him to quit, sources said.
The Imphal West district administration has curtailed curfew relaxation timings by five hours from 5am to 2pm.
“The Imas (mothers) are worried because of the death toll. The public wanted to take the body to the chief minister’s bungalow close by as proof that innocents continue to die in the conflict that started on May 3. This is because the authorities always tell the public not to believe in rumours. They say only firing is taking place in the peripheral areas. They don’t tell about the deaths,” a member of the Meira Paibi group told The Telegraph.
The area within a radius of 1km from Ima Market was affected by the stand-off.
“I was holed up in my office near the BJP office till 1am. The crowd was just about 100 metres away. I have never faced such a situation since the unrest began in May. I could hear the sound of firing and tear gas shells till around 3am,” an official said.