Locals stage sit-in protest demanding immediate release of civilians
Source: The Sangai Express
Bishnupur, May 12 2023:
Locals of Tera khongshangbi Khudekpi Leimaram and Bangla staged a sit-in protest at Leimaram playground today demanding immediate release and safe return of the three men who were abducted from Torbung Bangla by armed miscreants yesterday, Speaking by the sideline of the protest.
Memthoi leima.
mother of Leichonbam Suresh (one of the three abducted men) shared that the men had gone hack to Bangla to retrieve leftover paddy from their burnt houses.
At this point, unknown miscreants carrying sophisticated weapons, suspected to be Kuki militants, abducted the three men, she said.
Memthoi Leima claimed that the three men were abducted because the BSF camp at Bangla failed to respond promptly when people reached out to them for help.
Expressing hope that her son and the two other men are still alive, she earnestly appealed to the relevant authorities to spare no efforts to rescue the three men and bring them back to their families.
Wangkhem Mohen, one of the eight men who escaped from being abducted yesterday, expressed deep anguish over the incident.
He also decried the lack of timely action by the BSF personnel.
He further claimed that he was attacked with knives right in front of the BSF personnel while they remained as mute spectators.
He also shared that the armed miscreants carried sophisticated weapons including those from AK and SLR series.
"Despite receiving information that the 9th Assam Rifles have launched an investigation regarding yesterday's abduction, people are still uneasy because they have not caught the perpetrators yet," he said.
During today's sit-in protest, the protestors wielded many placards with messages such as "We condemn Bangla abduction incident", "We condemn Kuki militants", "Punish the perpetrators according to their crimes", "Return the abductees", "We want jus- tice" etc.
Separately, the villagers of Torbung, Bangla, Kangvai, Phougakchao and Ikhai have expressed their desire to return to their homes.
However, they are fearful of gun-toting suspected Kuki militants who roam their villages.
As such, they have called upon the State Government to increase surveillance in sensitive areas such as Torbung, Bangla, Waikhurok, Kangvai, Phougakchou, Ikhai etc and help the villagers to return to their normal lives.