TSE follows up on 'honour killing' threats charge
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 08, 2013: Barely 24 hours after Irom Chanu Sharmila went on air at NDTV and declared that she has been threatened with 'honour killing' from members of the Just Peace Foundation over her affairs with a certain Mr Desmond Coutinho, her elder brother Irom Singhajit has expressed shock and suprise over the statement.

The story which was aired on NDTV was also carried by The Sangai Express.

In a follow up story to what was aired and subsequently published in this paper, Singhajit said that he was taken by surprise on seeing the news report.

Putting the record straight, Singhajit said, "I am a trustee member of the Just Peace Foundation, but let me speak in my capacity as the brother of Sharmila and not as a member of the JPF.

"As a brother, I had told Sharmila that if her affair with Desmond Coutinho is going to influence her and constrain her to change her stand, then I would be ready to sacrifice my role as a father to my children and spend the rest of my days in jail".

Quoting what he had conveyed to Sharmila some time back, Singhajit recollected saying, "The sanctity of the cause that you have taken up, the honour of the land and the prestige of the people are far superior to the interest of the family".

Irom Sharmila produced before the CJM at Lamphel, Imphal on 14 June 2013 :: Pix - Bullu Raj

It was a communication between siblings, he said and dismissed that any other member of JPF had issued such a threat.

From 2000 to 2007, that is before Sharmila's campaign and sacrifice caught the attention of the world, I did all I could in my personal capacity, said Singhajit and recalled how he lost his job, had to sell his homestead and change residence many times.

Significantly, in the unedited version of the interview, Sharmila did not even once said that members of the Just Peace Foundation had threatened her with 'honour killing' and merely dubbed them as 'so called supporters'.

On Sharmila likening some of the people as the Taliban, Singhajit said it could be due to poor vocabulary on her part.

"It was a family issue and blaming CSOs would be out of place and inappropriate," he added.

Members of the JPF and Sharmila met for over two hours yesterday when she was brought to the Court to chalk out further strategies, said Singhajit and questioned why she would sit with members of the JPF if there was such a threat to her safety.

A distraught Sharmila's mother while talking to The Sangai Express said that after Coutinho entered the life of Sharmila, things have changed, somehow.