The Manipur agitation over  the demand for removal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, is set to intensify after Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil failed to break the deadlock on Sunday during his visit to the state capital Imphal.

Patil's trip began on a wrong note  when leaders of the Apunba Lup, umbrella organisation spearheading the agitation stormed out of a meeting he had called at the Raj Bhavan, saying: "the discussion has failed."

"The home minister is arrogant, he has no idea of the ground situation. We had only a one-line demand: withdrawal of the Act but the minister rejected our demand outright. The agitation will therefore continue," said L Umakanta, spokesperson for Apunba Lup, as the delegation came out after meeting Patil.

The Union home minister, who had arrived here earlier in the day amid stifling police bandobast, held a series of meetings with Manipuri politicians throughout the day before meeting the agitation leaders.

He told reporters that he had heard the views on the Act and would discuss them with his Cabinet colleagues in Delhi.

Patil said there were three different sets of opinions on the Act: one group wanted its withdrawal, the other its continuance and the third wanted it to be reviewed.

On the issue of Th Manorama Devi's death at the hands of Assam Rifles personnel, which sparked off angry protests on the streets, Patil said: "No culprit will be allowed to go free. There's a probe on."

He said the situation in the state was 'tense though there has been some improvement'.

Shortly after the collapse of their leaders' talks with Patil, hundreds of women carrying torchlights marched through the streets of Imphal, defying prohibitory orders to press for the withdrawal of the Act.

Earlier, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh ruled out withdrawal of the Act from the entire state, saying the situation was not ripe as extortions continued and normalcy was still to be restored.

Talks between Patil and the agitation leaders took place in the midst of a 12-hour general strike called by Apunba Lup. Earlier, agitation leaders had refused to attend the meeting, demanding the release of one of their top leaders arrested on charges of anti-national activities.