Massive security deployments have been made in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district following a violent mob attack on the office of Superintendent of Police (SP) M. Prabhakar on Friday evening.
A mob reportedly launched a coordinated assault on the SP’s office, throwing stones, petrol bombs, and other projectiles.
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Vehicles parked in the compound were vandalized, and SP Prabhakar sustained a forehead injury from a projectile.
While authorities used force to disperse the mob, several protesters were injured and subsequently hospitalized.
The violence erupted amid rising anger over the presence of central armed forces in the region.
Kuki groups had demanded these deployments to ensure security in buffer zones between Kuki-dominated hill areas and the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley.
Ethnic violence between the Kuki and Meitei communities has plagued Manipur since May 2023, claiming over 250 lives and displacing thousands.
The December 31 baton-charge on Kuki women protesting in Saibol village added fuel to the fire.
The women were allegedly blocking central forces from entering community bunkers, a move seen as a “forceful occupation.”
This led to the imposition of a blockade on National Highway 2 by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), cutting off a critical supply route to Imphal Valley and exacerbating tensions.
In response to the unrest, a large contingent of security forces has been deployed across Kangpokpi to maintain law and order.
On Friday, authorities recovered a significant cache of weapons in the Loibol Khunou area, including a modified sniper rifle, pistols, grenades, and an improvised mortar.
