Three injured in clash during highway blockade in Manipur
Kuki civil society organisations had called the shutdown on National Highway 37 on Sunday (June 22, 2026) to protest “selective security operations” allegedly targeting villages inhabited by the Kuki-Zo people.Several groups of protesters converged in the New Keithelmanbi stretch of the highway in the morning to restrict vehicular movement and demand the withdrawal of the ongoing security operations. The highway connects Manipur’s capital Imphal with Jiribam on the State’s border with Assam.The situation escalated after the security personnel used crowd-control measures, including smoke bombs and baton charges. At least three protestors were injured in the ensuing melee. The local unit of the Kuki Inpi, an apex community organisation, condemned the “aggressive and forceful dispersal of peaceful protesters” with “tear gas shells, blank ammunition, and batons”.Criticising the authorities for failing to address public concerns, the Kuki Inpi unit blamed the ongoing ethnic tensions on two Naga armed groups — the National Socialist Council of Nagalim and the Kamson faction of the Zeliangrong United Front.Blockade liftedLater in the day, the Committee on Tribal Unity announced the withdrawal of its blockade on NH 2 (Kohima-Imphal connector) and NH 37 following an understanding with the government.The organisation, representing the Kuki-Zo group of communities, said the blockade was lifted in the interest of public safety and peace after assurances from the Kangpokpi Superintendent of Police that essential commodities would be transported safely to Kuki-Zo villages.Meanwhile, a group of women activists in Imphal submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, demanding the “immediate and unconditional release” of four members of the radical Arambai Tenggol.These four were among 10 people arrested on June 19 by the National Investigation Agency in six different cases of ethnic violence in Manipur.“The Arambai Tenggol is not an armed group but a socio-cultural organisation formed to preserve and protect the identity of the Meitei community,” Thokchom Chandrasakhi Devi, one of the activists, told journalists after submitting the memorandum to the office of the Governor. Published - June 22, 2026 10:27 pm IST
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