A protest broke out after a shopkeeper allegedly tried to harass a woman in Churachandpur
Imphal/Guwahati:
A major protest broke out in Manipur's Churachandpur district after allegations surfaced that a shopkeeper tried to sexually assault a woman. The district administration imposed a curfew to control the situation.
The incident took place in the Tuibong subdivision of the hill district dominated by the Kuki tribes, about 65 km from the capital Imphal.
The shopkeeper, a non-local, was accused of trying to sexually assault a tribal woman, prompting huge crowds to take to the streets to take action against the suspect.
The situation escalated when they blocked roads and set fire to logs. They also mentioned a 12-hour shutdown that ended Wednesday evening.
The demonstrators took items from the suspect's store and burned them in the street.
In the order announcing the curfew, Churachandpur District Magistrate Dharun Kumar S said the police had issued a report raising concerns about law and order in Tuibong sub-division.
Amid the protests in Churachandpur, a video of a masked man mocking a group of soldiers in the city also went viral on social media. The man was seen running towards the soldiers, who were standing next to an armored vehicle, and gesturing that he would hit them. He also did a few push-ups. Others around him clapped and cheered as the soldiers looked on.
A user on
A man in Churachandpur, Manipur mocks security forces as others cheer. pic.twitter.com/cOuNb0gd6d
— MeiteiYekSalai (@MeiteiYek) October 23, 2024
Churachandpur is one of the districts that are part of the Kuki tribes' demand for a separate administration carved out of Manipur. The Kuki tribes and the valley-dominant Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.
