Manipur, August 04, 2023: The administration on Friday relaxed the curfew in Imphal East and West districts from 5 am to 12 pm to allow the public to buy essential items, including medicines and food, after imposing it on Thursday following violence in several districts of the state over the burial of ethnic riot victims, officials said.

A woman was injured in a crossfire between unidentified gunmen and security forces at Terakhongsangbi in Bishnupur district on Thursday night, they said. The woman, Aribam Wahida Bibi, was hit by a bullet on her hand and was admitted to a hospital in Imphal, they said.

On Thursday, a mob had ransacked the armoury at the 2nd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) headquarters at Naranseina in Bishnupur district and looted a large cache of weapons and ammunition, including an AK series rifle, three ‘Ghaatak’ rifles, 195 self-loading rifles, five MP-5 guns, 16 9mm pistols, 25 bulletproof jackets, 21 carbines, 124 hand grenades and more than 19,000 rounds of bullets of different calibres, they said.

More than 25 people were injured in clashes as Army and RAF personnel used tear gas shells to stop processions from going to a proposed burial site in Kangvai and Phougakchao areas in Bishnupur on Thursday, violating restrictions on gatherings.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a Kuki-Zomi organisation, had planned to bury 35 people who were killed in ethnic riots in the state at a site in Haolai Khopi village of Churachandpur, sparking tension in many districts.

The Manipur High Court had ordered that the status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site.