Manipur: Bandh over arrest of armed men paralyses normal life in Imphal Valley

Imphal, Dec 28 (PTI) Normal life was affected in the five districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday due to a bandh called over the arrest of six armed men and the death of one in a gunfight with the police in Thoubal on December 14.

Shops and other commercial establishments were closed, while public vehicles remained off the road.

Supporters of the bandh, called by the Joint Action Committee, demonstrated in the middle of the road and burnt tyres at Lamphel Sanakeithel in Imphal West.

In Bishnupur district, bandh supporters vandalised four-wheelers that were out on the roads.

The 24-hour shutdown began at 6 pm on Friday. It was supported by the students' and women's wings of the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomeration of several Meitei civil society bodies.

Police said that the six persons it arrested and the one killed in the gunfight at Salungpham in Thoubal were members of the banned outfit PREPAK who were allegedly involved in extortion activities.

A large cache of arms and ammunition, including those robbed from police armouries, were recovered from their possession, officials said.

However, the bandh supporters contended that they were 'village volunteers', protecting their neighbourhoods from armed Kuki men.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur since May last year. PTI