Imphal, March 7: After Thoubal, Manipur police today found themselves in the eye of a storm in Bishenpur when bullets from a constable?s Kalashnikov rifle struck a vendor.

The constable wielding the weapon was taken into custody after residents erupted in characteristic fashion. The injured paan seller, Lourembam Sanjay alias Nanao, was admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal with bullet injuries on his left leg.

Sanjay was standing in front of his kiosk in Bishenpur town when the constable, who was nearby, allegedly fired three shots from his rifle. The police said the accused accidentally pulled the trigger.

It did not take long for residents of the district headquarters to hit the protest trail. Shop-owners and residents formed a joint action committee and announced a district general strike with immediate effect.

Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, who is facing trouble in his home district over the alleged molestation of a woman named Maibam Naobi Devi in police custody, ordered the constable?s suspension till the completion of an inquiry.

The suspension, however, failed to pacify the protesters, who demanded that the constable be dismissed from service. They also demanded free medical treatment for the injured person.

Ibobi Singh rushed local legislator N. Radhakishore Singh to Bishenpur to calm the protesters.

The incident occurred even as the Apunba Lup, a conglomerate of 32 NGOs, announced that it was ?taking over? the agitation against Naobi Devi?s alleged molestation by police commandos. The Apunba Lup had spearheaded the two-month uprising against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the wake of Thangjam Manorama?s death in Assam Rifles? custody.

Four co-ordinators of the organisation?s working committee said at a news conference in the capital town this afternoon that Naobi Devi?s molestation and the firing in Bishenpur were part of ?state terrorism?. The leaders said the Apunba Lup would continue to fight against atrocities by government forces.

The organisation clarified that the agitation would be peaceful with protesters restricting themselves to sit-in demonstrations and a black-badge campaign in educational institutions.

It supported the demands raised by the joint action committee formed in Thoubal district and more than 100 NGOs. The demands include the resignation of the entire Ibobi Singh ministry, punishment to the commandos involved in the Naobi Devi case and the removal of the Thoubal chief judicial magistrate for allegedly favouring the police.

Five commandos were placed under suspension two days ago.