Reported by Bit Irom
Imphal: State and central police fired tear gas shells on Monday inside the campus of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered to oppose the medical treatment of three injured Kuki individuals.
The demonstration escalated around noon after protesters, reportedly belonging to the Naga and Meitei communities, stormed the RIMS campus.
They were protesting the admission of the three individuals, who had sustained injuries in an exchange of gunfire earlier that morning near Leilon Vaiphei and Konsakhul villages in Kangpokpi district.
Protesters opposed the treatment of the men, alleging that they were militants. They claimed that while the hospital might have space for Kuki civilians, individuals brought in by army personnel should not be admitted.
Following a standoff and confrontations that lasted for several hours, security forces resorted to firing tear gas shells to clear the hospital premises and restore order.
TP Daning, Assembly Affairs Secretary of the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM), expressed strong opposition to the admission of the three individuals.
Speaking to the media inside the hospital campus, he noted that a delegation had visited the casualty ward where the patients were admitted.
Daning questioned why Indian security forces were guarding and escorting these individuals into the hospital. He alleged that this action indicated open support for militants, particularly in light of the recent killing of six abducted Naga people.