Imphal: Protestors torched effigies of chief secretary P.K. Singh, DGP Rajiv Singh and security advisor to the Manipur government Kuldiep Singh in Imphal West district, on Friday, the second day of the 48-hour general strike called by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI).
The effigies were torched at Sagolband Bijoy Govinda and Lilong Chajing in Imphal West.
The general strike was called in response to an incident on Tuesday in which central forces allegedly instructed a Manipur State Transport bus carrying a media team to remove the word “Manipur” from its signage. The incident took place at Guwaltabi along the Imphal-Ukhrul road, while the bus was en route to Ukhrul for the inaugural ceremony of the 5th Shirui Lily Festival.
COCOMI demanded Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to apologize to the public on the action of the central forces and also demanded the three top officials to resign within the 48-hour general strike. Further course of protest was not announced at the time of filing this report. Imphal city and the surrounding areas remained largely paralyzed on the second day of the shutdown. People took out torch rallies in Imphal on the two evenings.
