Loitam Richard murder case: State Govt cheats people
Never approached Karnataka Govt, claims student bodies
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 12 2012: Although the Government of Manipur has time and again assured the people of the state that it has contacted and pressed the Karnataka government to bring out the truth behind the killing of Loitam Richard, six student bodies of Manipur have alleged that the state government never approached the Karnataka government over the issue.

Speaking to media persons here today, the leaders of the six student organizations namely AMSU, DESAM, MSF, KSA, SUK and SWAK informed that they have went to Karnataka to meet the Chief Minister of Karnataka and pressed him to bring out the truth behind the death of Loitam Richard on April 18 last.

During their visit, they have met the Chief Minister of Karnataka, the DGP, two other Additional DGPs, the Principal of Acharya Institute of Engineering and the doctors of Victoria Hospital where Loitam Richard was treated.

The student leaders further informed that when they met Chief Minister of Karnataka Sadananda Gowda in the evening of June 6, the latter conveyed that the government of Manipur led by Chief Minister O Ibobi had never approached the Karnataka government over the issue.

On the contrary, Sadananda Gowda himself told the Chief Minister of Manipur that the Karnataka government would take up every possible step to bring justice to Loitam Richard.

The disclosure made by Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda clearly indicates that the Government of Manipur never tried or was in no mood of solving the mystery behind the death of Loitam Richard, the student leaders asserted.

Furthermore, the student leaders informed that Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda even went to the extent of saying that 80% of Manipuri students in Bangalore come for using drugs, in which the leaders of the six student bodies reacted sharply.

In connection with their meeting with the DGP and the ADGPs of Karnataka on June 7 to press for handing over the case of Loitam Richard to the CBI, the student bodies said that the DGP and the ADGPs flatly refused to hand over the case to CBI but assured that the students of Manipur and all other North Eastern states would be safeguarded properly by Karnataka state police.

If there is an order from the court to hand the case over to the CBI, only then the Karnataka Government may be compelled to do so.

The student leaders recalled that the DGP of Karnataka informed that the case Richard Loitam was not taken up initially as it was reported that the death of Richard was due to an accident.

The case was handed over to the CID only after two accused students Vishal Banerjee and Shahid Abjal Ali admitted to beating up Richard on the previous night of his death during interrogation.

The student bodies informed that Vishal Banerjee and Shahid Abjal Ali have been arrested by the CID and placed under Judicial remand under IPC 304 .

Unhappy over the conduct of the state government, the student leaders categorically warned that the government of Manipur against remaining silent over the issue of Loitam Richard and said that the Chief Minister, Ministers and other Opposition parties should pressed the Central government to protect the lives of the students of North East.

In case of failure, the six student bodies would be compelled to take recourse to even more intense agitations and the Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh would himself be held sole responsibility of all the untoward incidents in this regard, the student leaders said.

They also informed that burning of Karnataka made goods would be relaxed for some time.

However, the agitation against the putting up advertisement hoardings related to admissions in institutions of Karnataka would intensify.

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