Normal life in the five districts of Imphal Valley was severely disrupted on Saturday as a bandh was called over the arrest of six armed men and the death of one during a gunfight with the police in Thoubal on December 14.
Shops and commercial establishments were shuttered, while public transport remained absent from the streets.
Protesters, led by the Joint Action Committee, staged demonstrations, blocking roads and setting tyres alight at Lamphel Sanakeithel in Imphal West.
In Bishnupur district, bandh supporters targeted vehicles on the roads, damaging four-wheelers in the area.
The 24-hour shutdown, which commenced at 6 pm on Friday, was supported by the students' and women's wings of the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a coalition of several Meitei civil society groups.
According to the police, the six men arrested and the one killed during the gunfight were members of the banned outfit PREPAK, involved in extortion rackets.
A substantial cache of arms and ammunition, including those looted from police armouries, was reportedly recovered.
However, bandh supporters argue that the men were “village volunteers” protecting their communities from armed Kuki men.
Since May last year, the ongoing ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups has claimed more than 250 lives and displaced thousands.
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