Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Security forces fired tear gas shells at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal on Monday to disperse hundreds of protesters. The crowd had gathered on campus to block the medical treatment of three Kuki individuals who were injured during a morning gunfight near Leilon Vaiphei and Konsakhul villages in the Kangpokpi district.
Tensions flared around midday when demonstrators, identified as members of the Meitei and Naga communities, entered the facility. The protesters claimed the injured men were militants and argued that hospital resources should not be used to treat them, specifically objecting to the patients being brought in under army escort.
TP Daning, the Assembly Affairs Secretary of the All Naga Students Association Manipur, was present at the hospital to voice the group's opposition. During the standoff, he questioned the involvement of state authorities, stating, "Why Indian security forces were guarding and escorting these individuals into the hospital." He suggested that the presence of security forces implied support for militants, citing the recent deaths of six abducted Naga people as a primary grievance.
The confrontation persisted for several hours until police and central security forces intervened to clear the hospital grounds. Order was eventually restored following the use of tear gas.
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