New Delhi: Those protesting against the killing of two young Meitei students in Manipur have reportedly faced “excessive force” from the security forces, leading to serious injuries. The discovery of ‘foreign particles’ in injuries have led some to allege that the security forces are using pellets.“Pellet guns, smoke bombs, tear gas shells, rubber bullets, batons were used yesterday (Wednesday) by security forces against the student protesters,” a student leader told The Telegraph.One of the injured, according to The Indian Express, is 17-year-old L. Kishan. A photo of Kishan with his shoulder torn off went viral on social media on Wednesday. “Doctors operated on him and removed 60 small particles of foreign body from the injured area. A forensic examination can reveal the nature of these, we cannot comment on it as of now,” an official from Imphal’s Shija Hospital told the newspaper.Another 17-year-old being treated at the same hospital, Johnson, was severely injured in one eye and may lose vision in that eye. “He may lose vision in his right eye. It is grievously injured – whether by splinter, rubber bullet, or something else, we cannot ascertain – and his nasal bone is fractured. We have not operated on his eye so far and he is under observation. We are waiting for a neurosurgeon’s consent to proceed with the surgery,” The Indian Express quoted the hospital official as saying.Surgery of another 17 year old, Uttam Soibam, showed dozens of “foreign particles” lodged in his skull. “We have been told that there are more than 50 particles in his head and that the surgery can last for up to seven hours… He was injured on Tuesday night. He had gone to join the protests which were happening in Singjamei, around a kilometre from our home,” said his cousin Kangleinbanba.An official at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, told The Indian Express they had received 14 patients with injuries. “Of these, four had injuries with pellets lodged near the eye or the chest, which have been removed. We cannot tell the nature of the pellets, whether these are splinters from tear gas shells or rubber bullets. None of them were very major injuries and all have been discharged,” he said.On Tuesday, hundreds of students took to the streets to demand justice for Luwangbi Linthoingambi Hijam (17) and Phijam Hemanjit Singh (20), who had gone missing and where found dead. The police used force to control the protest, leaving many injured. The protests in Imphal were sparked by the viral photos which showed the dead bodies of two youngsters who had been missing from early July.On Wednesday, thousands of students once again gathered to protest against the deaths and force was once again used, leaving at least 22 students injured.The police has claimed that “minimum force” was used. “Miscreants in the crowd (of protesters) used iron pieces and stones (marbles) against security forces. In retaliation, security forces used minimum force to disperse the congregation and fired some tear gas shells in which some people got injured,” a police statement on Wednesday said.The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, an umbrella body of Meitei organisations, said the use of force against students in uniform constituted “cowardice” and “a shameful act and violation of human rights”.Given the injuries reported, the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued an appeal saying that the strategies used to control young protestors should be different from what is used against adults. “I have appealed that things like tear gas should not be used against minor protesters. The last resort should be water cannons. There should always be one ambulance on standby and someone from the district administration should be present at all times,” The Indian Express quoted MCPCR chairperson Phurailatpam Manibabu as saying.