Imphal: The women vigilante groups, the Meira Paibis of Naoremthong in Manipur’s Imphal West district, have banned firing guns in festive joy, commonly known as celebratory gunfire, a practice where firearms are discharged into the air to mark special occasions.
The Meira Paibis of the Naoremthong Shamusang Phulem Maning Leikai Apunba Ima Iben Chaokhat Thourang Lup, Imphal West, staged a sit-in protest on Saturday at their office, demanding a total ban on the use of firearms in the name of celebratory gunfire.
The protest followed an incident in which a one-year-old boy suffered a bullet injury to his head from a stray bullet at his residence in Naoremthong, near the District Commissioner’s office, Imphal West, on New Year’s Day 2026.
Soujaijam Ongbi Farada, a leader of the Meira Paibi, on the sidelines of the protest, urged the officials and police to nab the alleged culprit who opened fire, causing injury to the infant.
She also appealed to gun users not to engage in firing guns in crowded areas.
She explained that the child was in bed when a stray bullet fired by an unknown person pierced through the tin roof and hit him on the head.
She added that bullets fired into the air do not disappear; gravity causes them to fall back to the ground at terminal velocities high enough to pierce the human skull or cause serious damage to property, animals, and people.
Victims of falling bullets are often innocent bystanders, including children and families inside their homes, rather than the shooters themselves.
The boy’s parents, Elangbam Thoiba and Elangbam Ongbi Lakhirani of Jiribam Lamdai Khunou, are currently staying at Naoremthong Khullem Leikai.
The projectile was successfully removed after a surgical operation carried out at the Little Clinic, Imphal.
Meanwhile, police stated that a case has been registered at Lamphel police station in connection with the incident.