Protests in Imphal Valley over hiding state's name on government bus

Imphal, May 27 (PTI) Two central offices were locked in Imphal as the students' wing of the COCOMI, an umbrella body of Meitei groups, protested the concealing of the state's name from a government bus in Gwaltabi last week.

Outnumbering the security personnel, COCOMI activists stormed into the Chief Electoral Officer's office at Lamphelpat and asked the staff to leave the building, before locking up the main gate.

The activists also locked up the office of the Geological Survey of India, located a few kilometre away, raising slogans, such as 'apologise or leave Manipur', against the governor.

Hundreds of people joined a march against at Lamlong in Imphal East district, raising slogans against attempts to "disintegrate Manipur".

The march, headed for the deputy commissioner's office, was stopped by security forces a few hundred metre ahead, at Porompat Junction.

A 5-km human chain demonstration was also held from Singjamei to Lilong in the Imphal West district.

Similar protests were also held in Nambol and Bishnupur town in Bishnupur district.

COCOMI (Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity) has been demanding a public apology from Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla over the Gwaltabi incident, and the resignation of the chief secretary, DGP, and security advisor.

It was alleged that security forces had stopped a state-run bus, on which journalists were being taken by the government to cover the Shirui Lily festival in Ukhrul district on May 20, near the Gwaltabi checkpost and forced the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) staffers to cover the state's name written on the windshield with a white paper.

Over the last week, protests over the incident have rocked the Meitei-inhabited Imphal Valley.

Since the beginning of the ethnic strife in May 2023, in which over 250 people have been killed, Meitei groups maintain that the territorial integrity of the state is non-negotiable in any peace process, while the Kuki-Zo outfits assert that the only solution to resolve the crisis is creating a separate administration for the hill districts where they live.

The incident of hiding the state's name on a government bus by security personnel has added to the tensions, which were waning in recent months because of a slew of measures undertaken by the Centre to bring peace in the state. PTI CORR SOM