IMPHAL: Police on Thursday fired gas canisters and mock bombs to disperse student demonstrators as they attempted to storm the private residence of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ksh Bhabhananda Singh in the city in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Five persons were injured.Protesters swarmed the passage in front of Bhabhananda’s residence in Wahengbam Leikai area in the afternoon. Police prevented them from going any further by using barricades. A scuffle broke out at the barricades and police resorted to firing mock bombs and tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. Four students were injured in the scuffle and a passer-by was reported to have fainted on the road.The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals by the police even as angry students immediately blocked the road in front of the house, shouting slogans of ‘Go back BJP’, ‘We condemn Citizenship Amendment Bill’, and ‘Bill cannot be passed in the Rajya Sabha’.Before long, superintendent of police ( Imphal West) H Jogeshchandra rushed to the spot and helped control the situation. As demanded by the protesters, belonging to six student bodies — AMSU, DESAM, MSF, SUK, AIMS and KSA — some student leaders were allowed by the SP to meet Bhabhananda at his residence.After the meeting, Bhabhananda, who is also the president of the Manipur unit of BJP, said he will not go against the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state. “I was born and bought up in Manipur. We do politics for the welfare of the people. I, along with my party and the state government, will not go against the aspiration of the people. We don’t even have the courage to go against it. We will do our best to fulfil the demands of the people on the bill,” said Bhabhananda.AMSU president Manjit Sarangthem maintained that all people of the state stand firm against the amendment bill and that around 200 students will go to Delhi on January 28 to protest. Stating that all political parties should unite against the amendment bill for the interest of the people of the northeast, particularly Manipur, Manjit said they would continue to agitate unless the bill is withdrawn.Meanwhile, a large number of people, under the aegis of Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS), staged a sit-in against the amendment bill at Muslim-dominated Lilong area in Thoubal district on Thursday.

Stay updated with all the Latest Imphal headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.