Mob storms police station in Manipur's Churachandpur after cop sacked over selfie with 'armed miscreants'

The mob pelted stones and ransacked the premises of the office.

Churachandpur Police SP Shivanand Surve had issued an order suspending a police head constable, Siamlalpaul, for allegedly working with suspected armed militants to carry out illegal activities on common citizens.

"A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14," the suspension order by the Churachandpur Superintendent of Police Shivanand Surve said.

To protest the suspension, large numbers of youths came out and attacked various government offices and the SP office.

Manipur Police said that a mob comprising about 300–400 attempted to storm the office of SP CCP today, pelting stones.

Protesters were seen surrounding the office of the SP demanding the reinstatement of the head constable, Siamlalpaul, who took the selfie in a bunker of "armed miscreants" and "village defence volunteers" atop a hill.

The protesters set a bus and other structures outside the district police chief's office on fire.

"The SF, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), is responding appropriately by firing tear gas shells to control the situation. Things are under watch," the police said.

According to reports, several protesters also received injuries during the tussle.

Manipur has been seeing gunfights between rival armed groups, who call themselves "village defence volunteers", amid the ethnic tensions between the hill-majority Kuki-Zo tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis.

The protesters alleged the head constable has been suspended unfairly, and should be reinstated. Churachandpur, a district dominated by the Kuki-Zo tribes, was one of the areas most affected by the ethnic clashes that began in May 2023.

The Kuki-Zo tribes have repeatedly alleged the involvement of the state police in attacking their villages. The police have refuted these allegations at every turn, and instead pointed at the alleged involvement of Kuki-Zo insurgents in bolstering "village defence volunteers".