Imphal, 27 Sep: Initially, police used batons and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the agitated crowd but opened fire when the mob refused to budge causing real bullet injuries to two students near the Kakwa police station in Imphal West district in the early hours of Wednesday, hospital sources said.

A large number of people mostly students supported by the women vigilante groups (Meira Paibis) tried to pass the road from Kakwa Naorem Leikai, Imphal towards the Manipur Chief Minister’s office in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police opened tear gas shells and mock bombs to disperse them. Amid the scuffle between the large protesters and police, there were sounds of gunfire. Subsequently, two students – W Joitn, 17, and Utam Soibam, 20, got bullet injuries. A bullet of the AK series rifle hit the balley of Jotin and it passed through his back. Utam also got injuries when he was hit on the back side of his head by the cartridges of a barrel gun. They were immediately rushed to the Raj Medicity, a private hospital in Imphal, the hospital sources said.

The protests in Imphal were held demanding early justice for the killing of two students – a girl and a boy. These students went missing on June 6 and their lifeless bodies lie near a boulder in a forested area that photos went viral on social media in the state.