Manipur police suspended a sub-inspector Wednesday after footage showed him firing an AK-47 assault rifle toward students protesting in Imphal.
The officer, a member of the state’s specialized police force, was caught on camera aiming his weapon at a crowd of teenage demonstrators. It is a move that has sparked fresh outrage across a state already fractured by over a year of ethnic conflict.
The incident happened during a massive student march toward the Raj Bhavan. Thousands of students had taken to the streets to demand the removal of the state’s Director General of Police and the Security Advisor. They want the central government to hand over control of the unified command to the Chief Minister. Instead of a dialogue, the march ended in a violent crackdown.
Police officials confirmed the suspension in a brief internal order, calling the officer’s conduct “unbecoming” and “highly unprofessional.” An inquiry is now underway to determine why a weapon of war was deployed for crowd control against unarmed minors.
While officials haven’t confirmed if this specific gunfire caused casualties, medical reports from Imphal hospitals tell a grimmer story. Over 50 students were treated for injuries following the protest—most from tear gas shells and pellet guns, but the sight of an AK-47 being triggered has shifted the narrative from “policing” to “aggression.”
The “so what” here is clear: the trust between Manipur’s youth and the state apparatus has hit a new low. Using automatic rifles against students isn’t just a lapse in judgment; it’s a sign of how thin the line has become between civilian law enforcement and combat in the region.
The suspension might offer a momentary pause in the public outcry, but it does little to address the students’ core demands. For now, the streets of Imphal remain under a heavy security blanket and an indefinite curfew, with the sound of that AK-47 still echoing in the political discourse.
