The protest was organized under the banner of the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), with the agitators taking out four separate rallies from different parts of the city.However, all processions were stopped at key locations including Keesampat Junction, Kangla Gate, Konung Mamang and Moirangkhom as heavy security deployment blocked access to the Chief Minister’s bungalow in Babupara area.At Khurai Lamlong, about 2 km from the CM residence, the situation became volatile when protesters tried to break the barricades. Officials said security forces responded by firing several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.Despite the confrontation, a small group of delegates were later allowed to meet the Chief Minister, where they submitted a memorandum outlining their demands.

Anger over the death of children in Bishnupur blast

The protesters raised slogans and carried placards demanding justice for the five-year-old boy and six-month-old girl killed in the recent bomb blast in Bishnupur district. The children and their mother were sleeping when the explosion ripped through the room, injuring the mother.He also called for rehabilitation and support of internally displaced persons affected by the long-running ethnic conflict.COCOMI convenor YK Dhiren said after the meeting that if concrete steps are not taken then the movement will intensify. He alleged that there has been no meaningful solution to the crisis since the violence first broke out on May 3, 2023.COCOMI spokesperson Nahakpam Shanta Singh said the group is seeking an action taken report from the state government on the death of the two children. bomb blast In Tronglaobi on 7 April.“Along with this, we have also raised several other demands. If the government fails to respond, we will be forced to adopt other democratic forms of agitation,” he said.

Three killed in fresh Naga-Kuki clash

These protests are taking place amid the latest increase in violence in the state. Earlier on Friday, three people, including a Tangkhul Naga and two Kuki-Zo persons, were killed in separate gunfights between rival armed groups in Ukhrul district. At least five others, including women, were injured in the clashes.Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) said Horoshokmi Jamang, 29, was killed in an ambush by armed Kuki militants while on patrol near Sinakeithei village. Meanwhile, the two Kuki deceased, whose bodies were found by security forces near Mullam village in the district, have been identified as Paominlun Haolai (19) and Letlal Seetalhau (43).Kuki groups claimed that in addition to the killing of two volunteers from a Kuki village, 17 houses were burned, several villagers were injured, and many others, including women and children, were displaced.Also read: Manipur unrest: Torch rally over Tronglaobi blast turns violent; Protestors clash with security forcesAdding to the complication, a faction of the NSCN (Aleng group) claimed to have killed five cadres of the Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) in Kamjong district. However, there has been no official confirmation of this claim, and KNA-B has dismissed the related allegations as “baseless and false”.

Torch rally turns violent; 58,000 displaced

A seven-kilometre long torch rally was also taken out from Mayai Lambi to Keeshamthong in Imphal West district over the death of two children in a bomb blast in Tronglaobi earlier this week. However, the situation deteriorated when the participants became aggressive and clashed with the security personnel, a police officer earlier told TOI.He said security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells in Keeshamthong area when hundreds of protesters defied the curfew and demanded permission to march an additional 200 meters towards Keeshampat, near Lok Bhawan and the BJP state office.So far, more than 260 people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced in the ongoing conflict between the Meiteis in the Imphal valley and the Kukis in the hills. The latest data obtained through an RTI shows that 58,881 people are internally displaced as of March 30, 2026, highlighting the scale of the humanitarian crisis.