AGENCIES

Fresh protests broke out across India’s Manipur on Friday night, with large crowds taking to the streets in Imphal East over the killing of two children.

Night protests erupted at Khurai Lamlong Bazar in Imphal East, where large numbers of people defied curfew and took out rallies. The situation soon turned tense, with security forces stepping in to control the crowd.

Tear gas shells and mock bombs were used to disperse protesters, and several people were injured in the clashes. The injured were taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.

At least four people were killed, two of them by police fire, in India’s northeastern state of Manipur on April 7.

On that day, two children from the mostly Hindu Meitei community were killed after a bomb exploded in a house in the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district.

A day later, police opened fire to control a crowd that had stormed a camp belonging to security forces, killing two people, the state’s interior minister, Govindas Konthoujam said.

The children killed in the unrest belonged to the Meitei community, whose members alleged the attack was carried out by Kuki militants. Kuki groups denied the accusations.

Anger continues to build across the Valley since the incident, with civil society groups calling for more protests in the coming days. The case has now been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).