The Army said on June 23 that a large group of women who were part of a mob prevented the movement of additional personnel in areas bordering Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts in Manipur as “armed miscreants” opened fire at villages. Though no one was killed or injured in the incident, Army said a pattern had emerged in the past 20 days where armed miscreants sneak into villages and fire with automatic weapons while women protesters block roads, stopping the movement of security forces.
A defence source said as a counter-strategy, Army too blocked roads at some distance to confine the mob and prevent miscreants from fleeing the area.
Army’s Spear Corps tweeted that “in view of blocks by women-led crowd in Yaingangpokpi (YKPI), additional columns moved cross-country on foot to cordon the area”.
