Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 03:
About 13 persons have been injured and hospitalised after a clash broke out with locals of Sendra Leikai and police during a specific eviction drive launched along the Sendra Tourist Home route and Sendra Leikai of Moirang today.
Houses constructed on the Tourist Home driveway and nearby settlement areas were dismantled by using heavy machinery (JCB) under security protection of a police team led by SDPO and other officials of Moirang police station from around 8 am.
The injuries were caused when the inhabitants resisted the eviction drive thereby resulting in the police team resorting to black firing and baton charge to contain the infuriated locals.
speaking to some reporters who reached the eviction site, president of Sendra Youth Club Moirangthem Ibosana, Thanga Part-II Panchayat member Moirangthem Romen and settlers listed 62 dwelling houses grounded in the eviction drive and decried the Government endeavour.
They also alleged that on September 30 a team led by OC and second-OC of Moirang PS had arrived to extract signature of house owners besides informing them to vacate their respective homes within Oct 5.Even as the police team prevailed upon the locals to acknowledge prior information on the eviction drive had been conveyed no responsible elders were present on that particular day thereby resulting in the uniformed personnel forcibly extracting thumb impressions of 11 and 12 year olds, they maintained.
The locals also contended that on seeing sudden arrival of police this morning requests were made to allow them retrieve some household items which were not honoured positively thereby leading to a brief altercation during which the men in uniform fired in the air apart from resorting to chase and thrash methods to quell the mob.
Including a pregnant woman 12 women and one male suffered injuries of varying degree, the locals charged.
All the injured are being treated at Moirang CHC.