Factcheck: Viral video claimed as fresh violence in Manipur is From 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first trip to Manipur since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, visiting on 13 September 2025. During the visit, Modi met with people displaced by the clashes, both from Kuki-Zo tribes in the hills and Meitei communities in the valleys, at relief camps, especially in Churachandpur’s Peace Ground. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for several development and infrastructure projects worth thousands of crores of rupees: approximately ₹1,200 crore of ready projects in Imphal, and new projects worth about ₹7,300 crore in Churachandpur. PM also called for an end to violence, urged all groups to come on a path of dialogue, and described Manipur as a land of hope with potential for growth.

Tensions flared in Churachandpur, Manipur after two people were arrested for allegedly vandalising banners and cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, images that had been erected in hundreds of locations ahead of his recent visit to the district. Following their arrest, a crowd gathered outside the local police station demanding their release. The protest escalated into clashes with security forces. Local residents gathered outside the Churachandpur police station demanding their release, and the situation escalated when some protesters tried to storm the station, leading to stone-pelting at Rapid Action Force personnel. The police responded with a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Tension eased only after the two arrested men were granted bail by a duty magistrate later in the day. The unrest came in the backdrop of Modi’s first visit to the state since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023, during which he met victims at relief camps and inaugurated major infrastructure projects, urging communities to embrace peace and reconciliation.

Meanwhile, a video circulating on social media claimed to show the recent violence in Churachandpur.

Factcheck:

The claim is misleading. The viral video is not from 2025 but from 2015.

To verify the claim, we did a reverse image search on Google using the keyframes of the viral video which led to a YouTube video uploaded on September 7, 2015, by the user Lalboi samte. Manipur: Irate protesters gathered outside a police station after police fired expired tear gas shells, the title says. The video description states that violent protests erupted in Manipur following the passage of three controversial land bills by the Manipur Assembly. This footage shows angry mobs outside the Lamka Police Station in Churachandpur after it was revealed that the police had used expired tear gas shells on them.

A keyframe analysis verifies that the viral video matches the older footage.

We did a keyword search for further details. According to The Hindu report published on 2015 September 02, protests by tribal communities in Manipur turned violent after the state assembly passed three contentious bills: the Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015, and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015. Many tribals feared these laws would enable outsiders to acquire land, threatening indigenous ownership and identity. Protests escalated, with protesters attacking homes of legislators and engaging in clashes with police; police firing led to several deaths, including that of a child. The unrest revealed long-standing grievances over land rights, identity, and political power, exacerbated by a perception that tribal communities were excluded from decision-making.

The viral video being shared as the September 2025 unrest in Churachandpur is actually old footage from 2015 protests triggered by controversial land bills. While recent clashes did take place after Modi’s visit, the circulated video does not depict those events.