The ongoing violence in strife-torn Manipur escalated further on Thursday as large mobs defied a curfew and attempted to storm the ancestral home of chief minister N Biren Singh in Imphal East and the residence of BJP legislator Kebi Devi in Imphal West, triggering hour-long battle between security forces and protesters.

To halt the mobs’ progress in both locations, security forces resorted to tear gas shelling.

Manipur police assured that both houses were secure and adequately protected. The protests began Tuesday over the disappearance and suspected killing of two students — 17-year-old girlHijam Linthoingambi and 20-year-old youth Phijam Hemjit — who were last seen together on a motorbike on July 6.