MU students subjected to severe thrashing at Raj Bhawan gate
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 26:
Several members of the Manipur University Students' Union including its president Ashirjit Luwang were seriously injured when State police commandos deployed at the Governor's gate lathi charged them while trying to stage a peaceful protest in front of the Raj Bhawan gate this afternoon.
According to reports, the incident occurred when a number of university students who came in two buses jumped down and tried to stage a sit in protest at the Raj Bhawan gate at around 1.25 pm demanding the punishment of Manorama's killers and removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the State.
The protesters also wore badges on their hands reading "arrest us".
Although taken by surprise, police personnel deployed in the area immediately swung into action and started thrashing the protesters brutally when they refused to go back.
The police beatings continued for nearly twenty minutes.
Despite the severe beatings, the protesters still refused to leave the area and continued their protest by lying on the ground bearing the onslaught of the police personnel.
However the police personnel still carried on their attack on the students raining blows and kicks until some of the students lost consciousness.
Having found no means to disperse the agitating students, the police dragged the injured students into their vehicles and carried them away.
Some girl students who also protested across the road were also dispersed by the police personnel by lobbing tear gas shells.
MUSU member Grison Inka (Commerce Department) and many others who fell unconscious during the lathicharge had to be carried off from the site by the police personnel.
Meanwhile, Manipur University Vice Chancellor Ng Bijoy who visited the injured MUSU members at RIMS this evening has strongly condemned the lathicharge on innocent MUSU students by personnel of State police and traffic cops and termed the act as barbaric and inhuman.
He stated that the police should have acted with restraint and arrested the protesters instead of raining blows and booting the helpless students.
Injured MUSU president L Ashirjit Luwang while talking to this reporter from his hospital bed strongly condemned Governor Arvind Dave for remaining completely silently silent when innocent students were thrashed black and blue by the State security personnel.
It may be noted here that Governor Arvind Dave is the Chancellor of MU.
The Joint Committee of the 32 organisa- tions spearheading the current agitation has also con- demned police excesses.