Ahead of Guv's return to Manipur, protest rally stopped, tear gas shells fired in Imphal West

Ahead of Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla's return to Manipur, security forces on Monday prevented students and women from taking out a rally in Imphal West district over the removal of the state's name from a government bus with journalists on board, and fired tear gas shells to disperse them, police said.

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IMPHAL:

The protesters assembled in the Kwakeithel area on Tiddim Road and planned to march towards the Raj Bhavan, covering a distance of three kms, but they were stopped from advancing from there, a senior officer said.

However, students and women's groups formed a human chain, covering a stretch of six kilometres from Imphal airport to Keisampat, around 200 metres away from the Raj Bhavan, he said.

The demonstrators held placards with the messages - 'Manipur's identity is non-negotiable' and 'Governor must apologise to the people of Manipur' - written on them.