Victim recounts Pune ordeal
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 14, 2012:
Khomdram Premananda of Khumbong Bazar, who survived attacks by unruly mobs in Pune recently arrived here today.
Recounting the ordeal to newspersons at DESAM office, Premananda said he faced the first attack on August 8 inside the Poona College campus when some students in uniform hit him on the head with a stick.
The class XII student said he was asked whether he is from Assam and attacked even before he could respond to the query.
The second attack on August 11 occurred in between 10.30 and 11 pm when he was returning to his rented room in the city where he also took up a part-time job, said Premananda s/o of Kh Dijamani.
The severe thrashing only ceased when Premananda managed to show his driving license to proof his identity of being a Manipuri, he maintained while informing that he was shown video clippings of corpses.
Joining the media briefing, a member of the six-student bodies' Joint Student Coordinating Committee namely Suresh stated that a Central Government leader had already assured to the Government of Manipur to initiate police action (FIR) within 24 hours if there is any further report of violence against students from the North East in Pune.
Maintaining that despite the assurance, people from the region, particularly Manipuri students had been at the receiving ends of sporadic violence in Pune, Suresh strongly condemned failure of the Government to protect people of Manipur in the Maharashtra city.
Kh Dijamani wished that the suffering faced by his son do not fall on other students of Manipur.
Meanwhile, Suresh as well as Dijamani prevailed upon the people of Manipur to exercise maximum restrain and abstain from spreading rumours that could compromise safety of all concerned, particularly Manipuri students studying outside.