TSA filed PIL at High Court for justice on July 13 Moreh attack

26th August, 2018

TSA peeved at government's non-action on July 13 Moreh terror attack, filed PIL at High Court for justice.

Thadou Students' Association is extremely dissatisfied with the silence and non-action of the State government and authorities concerned on the July 13 Moreh terror attack unleashed by the Kuki National Organisation/Kuki National Army (KNO/KNA) against innocent children and civilians, including Thongminlun Haokip, president of TSA Moreh block, his pregnant wife and their two children both below five years of age.

At around 2 am on July 13, 2018 heavily armed cadres of the KNO/KNA allegedly led by one Thenthang Haokip alias Thangboi alias Thahpi, Moreh Commander of KNO/KNA along with at least ten other cadres fired more than 100 rounds of bullets and lobbed at least 6 bombs at the residence of Thongminlun while he and his family were asleep inside the house. The attackers also assaulted Paokhogin Haokip and damaged several vehicles and properties.

Despite repeated appeals of TSA to the government for arrest of the culprits and the masterminds and bring them to justice, no one has been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

Interestingly, each time the KNO/KNA issued a media statement claiming responsibility and attempting to justify their July 13 Moreh terror attack, the story and the reason of the attack changed. KNO/KNA's own self-contradictory or conflicting media statements on three occasions giving reasons to justify their evil actions reflect their own state of confusion and inability to give any logical and justifiable reasons as to why they carried out the deadly terror attack.

In their first statement on July 24, while claiming responsibility for the attack, the KNO/KNA indicated that the attack was to punish Thongminlun and TSA, but in the second press release on July 29 it said it was nothing to do with Thongminlun or TSA but an election revenge attack against volunteers of Yanglet Haokip, BJP candidate for Tengnoupal Assembly Constituency in the last Manipur Assembly elections held in March 2017. And in their third press release on August 4, it claimed that it had previously asked the occupants of the houses to vacate.

Given the utter failure of the State government and other authorities concerned to take up any punitive actions against the perpetrators of the crime, TSA had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with Manipur High Court on August 16, 2018 as a means of seeking justice in the incident of attempted murder on TSA Moreh block president, his family and other victims of the incident. The case of this PIL bearing registration number 39/2018, which was moved at the High Court on August 16 has been scheduled for a hearing on 13th September, 2018.

We wonder if the government and the security forces are there to protect innocent children and civilians from the hands of terrorists or protect the terrorists like the perpetrators of the heinous July 13 Moreh attack by the KNO/KNA. We are not against any particular organisation or party, but we only expect the government to act fairly and justly without any fear or favour as we always stand up for peace, justice, public safety and welfare of the people.

TSA would like to again request the State government and authorities concerned to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice without any further delay, failing which we may be forced to resume agitation until justice is delivered.

Sd/-
Kamsanglen Singsit
Secretary Information & Publicity
Thadou Students' Association (TSA)