UNC leaders sent to judicial custody
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 21 2017: Chief Judicial Magistrate Imphal East has rejected the bail application of UNC president and information secretary and instead remanded them to judicial custody for 15 days till February 4 .

UNC president Gaidon Kamei (52) s/o (L) Landou Kamei of Noney Part I presently staying at Namdulung and information secretary Shangkhel Stephen (36) s/o (L) Shangkhel Thammok of Komsem village were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Imphal East Court today under tight security.

The bail plea of the two accused UNC leaders filed under 437 CrPC was rejected by the Court after hearing submissions of defence counsel M Mahendra Singh, APP of the State and counsels Samom Ibgen, Ch Bimolchandra, Salam Devananda and Thajamanbi Devi who are assisting the APP in the case.

The Court directed the jail authority to make necessary arrangements to enable the two accused to take part in the proposed tripartite talk to be held on January 23 at 11 am.

Mentioning the brief fact of the case, the Court stated that on November 24 last year at around 7 am, one Khagembam Lakpati lodged a written complaint with Nungba police station that on November 23 at around 8.30 pm some unknown miscreants suspected to be supporters of the ongoing UNC economic blockade burnt down a Tata truck loaded with rice driven by the complainant.

The truck was coming from Jiribam towards Imphal when the blockade supporters burnt it down at Sibilong along National Highway 37 and the frontal portion of the truck and some rice bags were gutted, it added.

The Court also stated that the accused were sent to seven days and five days police custody at the time of further custody taken by the APP and Investigating Officer of the case on the ground that some other alleged co-accused are to be arrested and whereabouts of them are to be traced but till date none of the co-accused have been arrested by the police.

The APP submitted that hectic efforts had been made to arrest the other co-accused but they were not found at their respective houses and the IO prepared house search memo to declare them Proclaimed Offenders.

Messages adressed to the OCs had been sent to search respective houses and cause arrest of the absconding leaders/volunteers of UNC who indulged in illegal and prejudicial activities, he stated.

The defence counsel pleaded the Court to release the two UNC leaders on bail on the ground that the case against the accused is false and concocted.

The accused persons were not directly involved in the burning down of the rice loaded truck.

There is not an iota of evidence for justifying the charges.

The two accused have no criminal intecedents, he argued , adding that accused number 1 Gaidon Kamei was a candiodate of MP for Outer Manipur Parliamentary election in 1999.The defence counsel also submitted a letter from the Chief Secretary addressed to the UNC president and general secretary for holding a tripartite talk in the ongoing economic blockade.

The Court asked the APP and IO of the case as to whether they have any idea about the letter.

Perusing the material on record including the cases which are placed, the Court granted the permission sought by the accused for attending the proposed tripartite talk.

However, it rejected the bail application of the accused.

The Court also directed SP Sajiwa Central Jail to arrange necessary steps for enabling the two accused attend the tripartite talk on January 23.The defence counsel and his assistant counsel S Shamungou may accompany the two accused at the time of attending the tripartite talk, it ruled.

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