A policeman was seriously injured when protesters tried to set fire to a government office in Wangjing, the scene of ethnic violence in Manipur on Monday night, as nightly torch marches continued in five districts to demand justice for a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister, whose deaths in an explosion in Trunglupi this month heightened tensions in the state.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the newly constructed Block Development Office and attempted to set it on fire a day before Prime Minister Yomnam Khemchand was scheduled to inaugurate it, officials said. The officials said that the timely intervention of security forces prevented the burning of the office and brought the situation under control.
But the ensuing confrontation between security personnel and protesters left Takhilchangbam Romesh Sharma, 37, who was stationed at Wangjing police station, sustaining serious head injuries. Sharma was admitted to the intensive care unit at a local hospital, and his condition remained critical.
Manipur Police on Sunday arrested 19 bandh supporters from multiple locations in the greater Imphal district. Thousands of demonstrators demonstrated in torch marches, defying the nightly curfew imposed on five areas from 5pm to 5am.
A five-day lockdown against the Trunglupi killings has been observed since midnight on Sunday in five districts. The United Naga Council has called for a separate 72-hour lockdown from Sunday midnight in Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur against the killing of two Tangkul Naga, including a former soldier, in an alleged ambush of suspected Kuki militants in Ukhrul on Saturday.
The Manipur government announced that the ambush case will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency for a transparent investigation.
Tensions in the state escalated on April 7, when the two minors were killed in the Tronglube explosion. On the same day, three people were killed after security forces allegedly opened fire on a mob that stormed a paramilitary camp in Bishnupur during protests over the killing of minors. The mob vandalized the camp.
Since then, torch marches have been held at multiple locations in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley under the banner of Meitei groups, an organization and coordinating committee of All Clubs of Manipur United (COCOMI) on Integrity of Manipur. COCOMI on Sunday announced a boycott of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s political activities.
Khimchand was appointed prime minister more than a year after his predecessor Biren Singh resigned in 2025, a week before President’s rule was imposed amid escalating internal discord and a threat of no confidence.
Sporadic violence continued in Manipur despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel. The state’s Meite and Kuki Zou communities have isolated each other from areas they dominate since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and 60,000 displaced.
Clashes first began between the Meite and Kuki communities. They later involved almost every community in the state.
The Metis people, most of whom are Hindu, live largely in the plains of the Imphal Valley. The Kuki family, most of whom are Christians, reside in the hills. Prime Minister Khamchand stressed that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but the government is identifying some sensitive areas.
