Imphal: A torchlight vigil in Manipur's Kakching district demanding the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census exercise turned violent, with some protesters pelting police with stones and law enforcers retaliating with tear gas shells, injuring a few agitators, officials said on Monday.
Hundreds of villagers from Wabagai, Hiyanglam and surrounding areas took out a 3-km-long protest march on Sunday night, raising the slogan "No NRC, No Census" and opposing the exercise before the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
As the rally proceeded towards the Kakching district headquarters, police stopped the agitators near the Keirak Dam area and asked them to return, officials said.
The tension escalated into violence, with some protesters resorting to stone-pelting, prompting police to fire several tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. A few protesters sustained minor injuries, the officials added.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hill-based Kukis in Manipur since May 2023.