Imphal, January 16: The torch rally called by the United Committee Manipur took an ugly turn when thousands of people who came out braving the January chill turned violent at different points of the capital city today.

However the rally passed off peacefully without any major hitches at other places.

Rallies were taken out peacefully at Pallel, Moirang, Kumbi, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur.

An enraged mob turned their wrath towards some UCM volunteers and tried to burn the vehicle in which the volunteers were travelling at Uripok today.

Timely action by the police saved the vehicle.

Cops on duty also severely beat up a journalist of the local cable network SEEN TV at Uripok.

A number of policemen and civilians were also injured in the skirmishes between the cops and the crowd.

Though the rally was supposed to be held from 7 to 8 pm, large crowd of people over stayed and 'demonstrated' late into the night.

At Khurai Lamlong area in Imphal East police had to fire tear gas shells.

The crowd also retaliated and pelted stones at the policemen.

Trouble at Khurai and Lamlong started when the crowd tried to barge their way through the barricade and enter Khwairamband bazar.

After repeated appeals by the police failed, the men in uniform ultimately fired tear gas shells.

Earlier in the evening, UCM volunteers went around and asked the meira paibis to stand in line and shout slogans coined by the Committee in unison.

There would be no rally, announced UCM.

As the clock struck 7 pm, women folk gradually started coming out from their homes and stood by the roadsides and shouted the slogans as asked by UCM.

However as the minutes ticked by, a large number of youths also joined in and spontaneously started moving towards Khwairamband bazar from different directions, Tiddim Line, Uripok-Kangchup road, Thangmeiband, Khurai-Lamlong etc.

Crowds coming along- the Thangmeiband side barged their way through the security barricades put up at Khoyathong traffic island and proceeded towards Kekrupat.

There the crowd shouted slogans pledging to protect the territory of Manipur.

Along Tiddim Line a large crowd of people made their way upto Keishampat junction.

However they were stopped there by the police.

A stand off ensued and enraged at being stopped, the crowd pounced on the barricades put up by the police and flung them into the Nambul River.

Crowds coming along the Uripok and Sagolband sides were stopped at Wahengbam Leikai and the traffic island at Sagolband.

Here police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

A Jeep carrying UCM volunteers was attacked by the crowd at Uripok.

Police had to intervene and stop the crowd from setting the vehicle on fire.

A reporter of the local cable network, SEEN TV identified as Arambam Prem was beaten up by security personnel at Uripok where he had gone to cover the incident.

At Uripok the crowd pelted stones at the policemen.

The crowd even used catapults to attack the cops.

Police fired tear gas shells and mockery bombs to bring the crowd under control.

At the Indo-Burma road the surging crowd was stopped at Moirangkhom.

Wangkhei side was comparatively peaceful.

Top ranking police officers including the IG (LO-I) Romenkumar, IG (LO-II) Thangkuam, SP Imphal East Kamajit were seen personally overseeing the security arrangements in Imphal East.

Leaving nothing to chance security was beefed up from early evening today.

Policemen were deployed at all the strategic points and people were seen hurrying back home after some last minute shopping and errands for the day.

UCM volunteers went around exhorting the people to come out with torch in their hands and to shout the slogans they had coined.

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