Amid fresh protests in Imphal over the deaths of two Meitei students who went missing in July, protestors alleged that they faced 'excessive force' from the security forces, leading to serious injuries, with some also alleging that the security forces are using pellets.
A fresh bout of violence broke out in the state capital Imphal on Tuesday, a day after photos of the bodies of the two youths, who went missing in July, went viral on social media. A CBI team is currently investigating the killing in the northeastern state which has been witnessing ethnic strife for nearly five months.
Student leaders involved in the protests told media reporters that security forces allegedly used pellet guns, smoke bombs, tear gas shells, rubber bullets, and batons against student protestors.
A purported photo of a 17-year-old student protestor with his shoulder torn off went viral on social media on Wednesday. "Doctors operated on him and removed 60 small particles of foreign body from the injured area. A forensic examination can reveal the nature of these, we cannot comment on it as of now,” an official from Imphal’s Shija Hospital told the Indian Express. Surgery of another 17-year-old student Uttam Soibam, showed dozens of “foreign particles” lodged in his skull, the report said.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, an umbrella body of Meitei organisations, condemned the alleged use of force against students in uniform, stating that it is “cowardice” and “a shameful act and violation of human rights”.
However, police officials maintained that they used "minimum force" against protestors, especially students. Appealing to the students to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace and bringing normalcy back at the earliest, police said, "Any miscreants taking advantage of the current situation will be firmly dealt with by police."
The Manipur government on Thursday constituted a committee to verify complaints of alleged use of excessive force on protesters, mainly students, by security forces over the last two days, an official order said. "A meeting of senior officers of CAPF was held to discuss the present law and order situation in the state. The officers were apprised of the unfortunate injuries of students as well as security personnel," the state police had said on X.
The use of pellet guns, which is a rifle or pistol that shoots non-spherical metallic pellets using compressed air rather than an explosion of gunpowder, to curb protests has been criticised in the past. According to Human Rights Watch, pellet guns were used in Kashmir during protests leaving 4,592 people injured between 2016 and 2019.
