Two hurt in police action in front of Sangai Fest venue

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 20 : At least two persons were injured in police action to control protesters who tried to storm the main entrance gate of Hapta Kangjeibung, the main venue where the 12th edition of Manipur Sangai Festival is scheduled to kick off from tomorrow (November 21).
Members of COCOMI and internally displaced persons came to Hapta Kangjeibung and staged a sit-in protest in the middle of the road in front of the main gate of the 10-day festival’s main venue.
The protesters shouted slogans against holding Manipur Sangai Festival 2025 amid the hardships being endured by all sections of people in general and IDPs in particular.
The protesters shouted slogans like “Manipur San-gai Festival at the present time is inappropriate and insensitive”, “We oppose Manipur Sangai Festival”, “Free movement first, next Sangai Festival”, “First resettlement, next Sangai Festival”,  “We boycott Ma-nipur Sangai Festival” etc.
As COCOMI members and IDPs were holding a protest demonstration in front of Hapta Kangjei-bung’s main entrance gate, members of COCOMI students wing tried to join the protest from two sides, one from Govindajee Temple and another from the Palace Gate.
But they were detained from proceeding toward the protest site by a large number of security personnel deployed at the Palace Gate and the junction of Govindajee Temple by placing iron barricades.
As the students tried to force their way to the protest site,  heated arguments and scuffle broke out between the students and security personnel at both Govindajee Temple junction and the Palace gate.
The students coming from the Govindajee Temple side somehow breached the security barricade and made their way up to Maharaja Bodhachandra College gate.
The security forces responded by baton charging the agitating students and tried to push them back up to Govindajee Temple junction.
The situation turned ugly when the protesting students and security personnel were locked in a physical confrontation.
Subsequently, security forces used smoke bombs to disperse the agitating students from the area and push them back up to Andro Parking.
In the midst of the melee, Laikhuram Jayenta, Information and Publicity Secre- tary of COCOMI was picked up and taken away by police.
Meanwhile, heated arguments and scuffles continued between the protesting students and security personnel at the Palace Gate
When the protesting students tried to forcefully make their way to Hapta Kangjeibung, police fired several rounds of smoke bombs to disperse the students.
Two persons were injured in the police action and were reportedly rushed to hospital for treatment.
After the incident, a large number of security reinforcements including both State and Central security personnel arrived at the spot to assist the security personnel deployed in the surrounding areas of the festival venue.
Meanwhile, security measures have been tightened in the surrounding areas of the festival venue.
On the other hand, a protest demonstration denouncing the Government’s decision to hold Manipur Sangai Festival amid the people’s untold suffering was held at Khwairamband Keithel too at around 1 pm.
Security personnel responded by placing iron barricades at the entrance of the lane that separates the two Ima Keithels so as to prevent the womenfolk from taking out any protest rally.
Nonetheless, the womenfolk shouted slogans denouncing the Government’s decision to hold Manipur Sangai Festival when more than 50 per cent of the State’s population are being kept under siege for over two years and a half.
There was no untoward incident during the protest at Khwairamband Keithel.