Escalating protests led by students against the unending turmoil in Manipur have prompted the BJP government to impose an indefinite curfew in five valley districts, a five-day ban on Internet services and the closure of schools and colleges till Thursday.

The Centre on Tuesday directed the deployment of two additional CRPF battalions comprising around 2,000 personnel in Manipur. Former army chief General Ved Malik said the violence in Manipur called for the imposition of President’s rule.

The government imposed the curfew around 11am on Tuesday apprehending breach of peace as a large number of students hit the streets at multiple locations against the authorities, their ire mostly directed at the Centre. The students demanded the restoration of peace. An unspecified number of students were injured in tear-gassing by the security forces.

Students clashed with security personnel as they tried to enter VIP areas in Imphal West district, resulting in the firing of tear-gas shells and a lathicharge.

At the Khwairamband Ima (mothers’) market, women and students wanted to march to the Raj Bhavan after the students’ 24-hour deadline to address their concerns ended.

A 10-member students’ group had on Monday submitted a memorandum to governor L.P. Acharya and subsequently set a 24-hour deadline. The students stayed the night at the market and hit the streets after the expiry of their deadline.

As the protesters began marching towards the Raj Bhavan, the forces used tear gas, mock bombs and batons to quell them. The students retaliated by hurling
stones, bottles and damaged bicycles.

Around 3pm, the governor issued a statement appealing for peace. As the situation turned volatile, he met an 11-member students’ delegation at 6pm. The governor pledged to do whatever is possible in the “best interest of the students and people of Manipur”.

Imphal valley has been witnessing protests since September 1 after drone bombings in Imphal West.

The agitation intensified after the rocket bomb attack in Bishnupur and the gunfight in Jiribam in which six people were killed. It had also forced the chief minister and ruling MLAs to meet the governor on Sunday.

The trigger for the students issuing the 24-hour deadline was, according to sources, the lack of response to the charter of demands submitted on Monday afternoon.

Sources said the students had demanded the removal of the DGP and the security adviser and handing over of the charge of the Unified Command to the chief minister and the elected government. Kuldiep Singh heads the Unified Command. The protesters also said the central forces must leave as they have been “mute spectators”.

The chief minister-led delegation had on Sunday also submitted a memorandum to the governor requesting the transfer of the charge of the Unified Command to the state government.

From the nature of the protests and the demands, it is clear the ire is directed more at the Centre than at the state government, sources said. Kuldiep Singh and DGP Rajiv Singh were appointed on the “recommendation” of the Centre, they said.

The sources said the Centre was in a bind because the Kuki-Zos would oppose the handing over of the Unified Command to the Biren Singh government. Kuki-Zos are also protesting the move to replace the Assam Rifles battalions in the state, as the Meiteis want.

At Kakwa in Imphal West, there was a flare-up between security personnel and Manipur University students around 2pm. They staged a protest under the aegis of the Cocomi Students’ Front, protesting the state’s and the Centre’s “ineffectiveness” in controlling the violence in the state that erupted on May 3, 2023, leaving at least 234 dead and over 60,000 displaced.

They burnt effigies of Union home minister Amit Shah, DGP Rajiv Singh and security adviser Kuldiep Singh at the university gate.