Manoj Prabhakar, the superintendent of police of Kangpokpi district in Manipur, was among several injured when a protest rally called by the Committee of Tribal Unity (CoTU) turned violent and attacked the SP's office with stones and petrol bombs on Friday evening.

The CoTU, a conglomerate of civil society organisations, has been on the warpath against the deployment of central forces at Saibol village in the Kuki-Zo-majority Kangpkopi district.

"The SP of Kangpokpi has received necessary medical treatment and is fine now. He is presently leading the joint security forces in tackling the situation. Huge contingents of security forces have been deployed to tackle the situation," the police said.

Security forces used adequate force to disperse the mob and the situation was brought under control, the police said.

The attack happened on a day when former Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla assumed charge as governor of the strife-hit state.

Bhalla is the 17th governor of Manipur. He was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur, Justice D. Krishnakumar, at Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Imphal.

With Bhalla’s appointment, Manipur has seen three governors since the ongoing conflict began on May 3, 2023, leaving at least 260 dead and over 60,000 displaced.

Anusuiya Uikey was the governor when the conflict erupted last year. Assam governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya had been holding the additional charge of Manipur since July 31.

Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh said the appointment of the “highly experienced” Bhalla reflected the Centre’s seriousness in resolving the conflict.

He was hopeful that Bhalla, who was the Union home secretary when the conflict began, would play a key role in restoring normality. The 1984 batch IAS officer had retired in August.

Singh urged the people to have faith in central leaders and the government as the state was committed to ensuring peace. He said the people should have patience because restoring peace might take some time.

However, Kuki-Zo areas continued their protest against the deployment of central forces at Saibol and the use of force against women protesters on December 31.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of Kuki-Zo tribes, imposed a 24-hour economic blockade on all Kuki-Zo-inhabited districts from midnight of January 2 till 2am of January 4 against the "blatant disregard for tribal rights and dignity".

Traffic and transportation of essential commodities passing through the Kuki-Zo-inhabited areas are restricted during the blockade, the council said.

A member of the ITLF, another tribal outfit, said the Kuki-Zo majority districts of Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Pherzawl and Tengnoupal were affected by the economic blockade and the protest would only intensify if the central forces were not withdrawn from Saibol.

“We call upon all tribes and the civil society of Kuki-Zos to raise common slogans for justice and stand united for the success of the blockade which is against oppression. This decision comes in response to the government’s continued indifference to its citizens,” the council said.

The KZC also endorsed the CoTU's call for the economic blockade, total shutdown in Kangpokpi district and mass public protest at Kangpokpi district headquarters since Wednesday.

The CoTU has extended its 12-hour total shutdown till 2am on Saturday.