Imphal, Feb 5 (IANS) At least five people were injured on Thursday evening after a mob clashed with security forces in Kuki-Zo tribal-dominated Churachandpur district of Manipur amid protests against MLAs from the community joining the BJP-led government, officials said.

A police official in Imphal said that protesters, mostly youths, gathered at Tuibong Bazaar, torched heaps of discarded materials and burnt tyres while raising slogans against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, a BJP MLA belonging to the Kuki-Zo community.

The situation escalated when central and state security forces attempted to disperse the crowd. The mob initially outnumbered the security personnel and resorted to heavy stone-pelting, prompting the forces to carry out a baton charge to bring the situation under control.

Additional security personnel were later deployed in the trouble-hit areas to prevent further escalation. At least five protesters sustained minor injuries in the incident, the police official said.

The situation remains highly tense, with senior security officials rushing to the area to oversee efforts to restore normalcy, the official added. Tensions have been simmering in Churachandpur district since Wednesday evening after Kipgen, who hails from Kangpokpi district, virtually took oath as Deputy Chief Minister from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi.

Several Kuki-Zo organisations have called for a shutdown in Churachandpur district on Friday and announced plans to hold demonstrations in Kuki-Zo tribal-inhabited areas of other districts.

Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community, on Thursday declared a social boycott of all Kuki-Zo MLAs who participated in the formation of the Manipur government.

Three of the ten MLAs from the Kuki-Zo community — Nemcha Kipgen, L.M. Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate — have so far been involved in the government formation process.

Of the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, seven, including Kipgen, Khaute and Sanate, belong to the BJP, while the remaining three are affiliated with local Kuki-Zo organisations.

–IANS

sc/dan