Hundreds of protesters in Imphal clashed with security forces on Saturday after being stopped from marching to the chief minister’s residence, The Hindu reported. They were demanding justice for two children killed in a recent attack and permanent peace in Manipur.

More than 20 protesters were injured in the clashes, the newspaper quoted eyewitnesses as saying.

The protest rallies organised by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, a civil-society organisation, began from eight locations but were blocked by security forces at several points that led to the chief minister’s residence, The Indian Express reported.

Tensions escalated in some areas as protesters attempted to breach barricades, with some throwing stones and the security forces using tear gas to disperse the crowds in places including Keishampat, Lamlong, Ima Keithel and Singjamei, the newspaper reported.

The police said on Saturday that six persons had been arrested for their alleged involvement in “violence and disruption of public order and peace in greater Imphal area”. But it was unclear if the police was referring to incident on Saturday.

A delegation of protesters was later allowed to meet Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands, The Hindu reported.

Following the meeting, Singh appealed to the family of the two children killed on April 7 in Tronglaobi to accept their bodies that have remained in a morgue for more than two weeks, India Today NE reported.

He said the government was working with security agencies to identify the perpetrators.

Singh added that “there is no other way to bring peace other than through talks on the negotiating table”, The Indian Express reported.

The two children were killed in Bishnupur’s Tronglaobi on April 7 after a suspected projectile struck their home. The incident, which occurred while the family was asleep, left a five-year-old boy and five-month-old girl dead.

The village where the incident took place is located near the hill areas of Churachandpur and has witnessed tensions since the ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023.

At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the conflict began. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024 and 2025.

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