IMPHAL: As gun battles continued throughout the day in Manipur’s volatile Bishnupur area, police commando Pukhrambam Ranbir succumbed to his injuries on Friday while being transported to Bishnupur hospital.
According to Indian media reports, security forces shot at least one suspected militant in the region. Following the news of the death of 17-year-old student Mayengbam Ricky, who was caught in the crossfire in Moirang, protests erupted with hundreds, including schoolchildren, gathering in front of the Moirang Multipurpose Higher Secondary School.
Students Stage Sit-in Against the Incident
They held placards with messages such as “We want peace,” “Stop killing students,” and “Dear PM, our friends are dying. How many more days should we wait to see peace in Manipur?” Ricky’s fellow students organized a sit-in protest at the school gate. Gunfights between armed gunmen and security forces were also reported in other areas, including Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts, in addition to the pockets near Bishnupur’s Kwakta.
The recent killings coincided with the visit of a delegation of citizens from Nagaland, led by the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum and accompanied by a team of CPM-CPI MPs. “We recognize that escalating conditions are dividing neighbors, communities, and friends in Manipur.
As neighbors, we urge the people of Manipur to give peace a chance and courageously put an end to the vicious cycle of violence,” said Rev Wati Aier, who is leading the 30-member team from Nagaland. Left-wing MPs criticized both the central and state governments, stating that the “claims of the greatest governance through a double-engine government are now exposed to the core.”
