Tension in Churachandpur after two held for vandalising Modi cutouts

PM Narendra Modi was in Manipur on Saturday, where he met the internally displaced people in Churachandpur. PIC/AFP

Tension broke out in Manipur's Churachandpur district on Sunday after police detained two youths for allegedly vandalising banners and cutouts put up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, officials told news agency PTI.

On the night of September 11, several cutouts and banners at Pearsonmun and Phailien Bazaar were damaged. Following the incident, a number of youths were picked up. While most were released after questioning, two were kept in custody, police said.

As word spread, a mob gathered near the Churachandpur police station demanding their immediate release, reported PTI. The protest turned violent, with agitators pelting stones at security personnel. The situation calmed down only after police released the two youths.

Police had earlier maintained that the duo had been arrested.

"The two individuals were not randomly detained as claimed by the protesters, but were picked up from the site of vandalism for questioning," a district police officer told PTI.

Modi visited Manipur on Saturday for the first time since the ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis erupted in May 2023. He addressed a public rally in Churachandpur, a Kuki stronghold, and later in Imphal, the Meitei-dominated state capital, assuring people that Manipur would be made a "symbol of peace".

The Prime Minister also met those affected by the violence and announced several developmental projects.

Sharad Pawar welcomes PM Modi's Manipur visit, says ‘good that he went'

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Manipur, calling it a long-standing "demand" of the violence-hit state, reported news agency ANI.

Speaking at a press conference in Nashik, Pawar said, "It was being demanded that PM Modi visit the state. It is good that he went there."

Earlier in the day, Congress leader P Chidambaram criticised the Prime Minister's visit, accusing him of not apologising for the delay and questioning the brevity of his stay.

In a post on X, Chidambaram said Modi had "not even bothered" to visit Manipur earlier.

"In the 2023 riots in Manipur, 258 people lost their lives, 1,108 people were injured, 532 places of worship were damaged, 60,000 people were displaced, thousands of people are still in refugee camps today. For two years, Prime Minister Modi has not even bothered to visit Manipur and did not apologise for not coming," he wrote.

Amid the political row, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also took a swipe at the Prime Minister. In a post on X, Ramesh criticised the PM for spending less than five hours in the state, questioning his commitment to addressing the plight of Manipur's people.

(With PTI and ANI inputs)