At least seven women were injured on Sunday when security forces fired tear gas shells and used mock bombs to disperse protesters marching towards Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
The situation, say sources, is under control.
The protesters were responding to a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a civil society group, against the alleged removal of the state’s name from a government bus on May 20.
Condemning the reported removal of the word “Manipur” from a state transport bus by the security personnel, COCOMI Convenor Khuraijam Athouba had demanded a formal apology from Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
A row erupted after a media team, en route to cover the opening ceremony of the five-day-long Shirui Lily Festival in Ukhrul district on May 20, was forced to return to Imphal, allegedly after some security personnel blocked their bus at Gwaltabi in Imphal East district.
The All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU) and the Editors Guild Manipur (EGM), in a joint letter to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Tuesday, said that the security personnel instructed the media team to hide the “Manipur State Transport Corporation” signage on the front of the bus carrying 20 journalists and some Information Department officials.
The Manipur government has also constituted a two-member inquiry committee to probe the issue.
