A policeman was critically injured on Monday night in Manipur’s Wangjing after protesters attempted to set a government office on fire amid ongoing ethnic tensions. The unrest comes as torch rallies continued across five districts, with demonstrators demanding justice for a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister, who were killed in an explosion in Tronglaobi earlier this month, an incident that has further intensified the situation in the state.
Officials said that hundreds of protesters gathered outside a newly built Block Development Office and tried to set it ablaze just a day before its scheduled inauguration by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand. Security forces intervened in time, preventing major damage and bringing the situation under control.
However, a confrontation between protesters and security personnel left Takhelchangbam Romesh Sharma, a 37-year-old policeman posted at the Wangjing police outpost, with severe head injuries. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of a local hospital and remains in critical condition.
On Sunday, Manipur Police arrested 19 bandh supporters from various locations in the greater Imphal area. Despite a night curfew imposed from 5 pm to 5 am in five districts, thousands of people have continued to participate in torch rallies.
A five-day shutdown in protest against the Tronglaobi killings has been underway since Sunday midnight across five districts. At the same time, the United Naga Council announced a separate 72-hour shutdown in Naga-inhabited areas beginning Sunday midnight. This protest was called in response to the killing of two Tangkhul Nagas, including a former serviceman, in what is believed to be an ambush by suspected Kuki militants in Ukhrul on Saturday.
The Manipur government has said that the ambush case will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency to ensure a transparent probe.
Tensions in the state escalated sharply on April 7 following the deaths of the two children in the Tronglaobi explosion. On the same day, three people were killed after security forces allegedly opened fire on a mob that had stormed a paramilitary camp in Bishnupur while protesting the deaths. The camp was also vandalized during the incident.
Since then, torch rallies have been organized across the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley under the banner of groups such as the All Manipur United Clubs Organization and the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity. On Sunday, COCOMI announced a boycott of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s political activities.
Yumnam Khemchand became Chief Minister more than a year after his predecessor, Biren Singh, stepped down in 2025, shortly before President’s Rule was imposed amid growing political instability and the threat of a no-confidence motion.
Violence has continued intermittently in Manipur despite the presence of thousands of security personnel. Since ethnic clashes broke out in May 2023, tensions between the Meitei and Kuki Zo communities have led to deep divisions, with both groups largely confined to their respective areas. The conflict has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced around 60,000 people.
While the clashes initially involved the Meitei and Kuki communities, they have since drawn in multiple groups across the state. The Meiteis, who are largely Hindu, are concentrated in the Imphal Valley, while the Kukis, who are predominantly Christian, reside in the hill regions. Chief Minister Khemchand has maintained that there are no formal buffer zones separating communities, although the government continues to identify certain areas as sensitive.
