After the crowd gathered in response to a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei civil society organization, to remove security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai village, clashes were reported from Phougakchao Ikhai bazaar, 52 km south of Imphal, along the Imphal-Churachandpur route.

In anticipation of potential law and order infractions, the state government hastily imposed a full curfew in Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kakching, and Thoubal till further orders.

S Ranjan Singh, the state’s minister of information and public relations, urged COCOMI to abandon their plan on Tuesday night, claiming that the majority of the barriers in the village area had been taken down, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

However, according to the officials, the crowd, on Wednesday, was obstinate as it attempted to march toward Phougakchao Ikhai to remove the barricades at around 3pm. The officials added that state police forces halted them.

Police used tear gas to try to disperse the gathering as it attempted to break through the barricades. According to the government, about 40 individuals were hurt in the shooting, including a video journalist.

Some of the injured were taken directly to a hospital at the Bishnupur district administrative center, while others were sent to hospitals in Imphal. The authorities reported that their health is stable.

According to a statement made by the police control room, a sizable mob gathered at Kwakta in Bishnupur on September 6, 2013, with the intention of moving toward the Torbung region to demolish a roadblock or bunker. Security personnel, however, interfered and scattered the mob.

Lourembam Nganbi, president of Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL), reportedly told reporters that hundreds of Meiteis who left their houses in Torbung after violence erupted on May 3 are unable to go back due to the barricades. We’re simply asking that they be moved so that folks can go home. Since the government had ignored their repeated calls to take down the barricades by August 30, COCOMI had urged the populace to storm the barriers.