AR agrees to conduct inquiry into woman's death, many condemn AR act
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, April 05 2011:
With Assam Rifles authority agreed to constitute a court of inquiry into the dead body of the 68-year old woman in the firing by troops of 15 Assam Rifles in Thoubal, family has been taken back the dead body of the woman on Monday.
Meanwhile, many civil organisations including human right bodies condemned the act of the Assam Rifles in their strongest words.
Troops of 15 AR posted at Thoubal near Chaoyaima Higher Seconday School had killed the 68-year-old Waikhom Mani Devi of Thoubal Nongyongkhong Banot Leikai, on the Saturday night at 12.10 am.
The AR troopers fired the guns while celebrating India's victory in the cricket World Cup.
Members of the JAC formed in connection with the killing today held a meeting with the chief minister and authority of the Assam Rifles at the bungalow of the chief minister.
The hour long meeting ended with an agreement to conduct an inquiry into the incident, a member of the JAC said.
He said that AR authority also agreed to take action against the erring personnel as per the finding of the inquiry.
In return, the JAC agreed to take back the dead body and performs the last rites.
Government, in the meantime, has agreed to compensate the family as per rules enforce in the state and also provide a government job to a member of the family, the JAC member said.
After postmortem on the dead body at JNIMS morgue, Imphal, family has received it this afternoon.
MLA O Joy has demanded that befitting punishment should be awarded to the AR personnel involved in the firing to kill the woman.
He said that everybody in the state also celebrated the victory but firing guns in celebration of the victory shows that AR personnel are lack of discipline.
The incident also shows that AR personnel are out of control.
AR officials could not control their personnel and AR personnel could not take people of the state as their own people,
he added.
The All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) while condemning the act of the AR said that it was the result of giving special power to the mad security personnel deploying in the state under the AFSPA.
A statement of the organisation further expressed disbelieved with the AR authority's "Court of Inquiry" asking how many personnel who involved in such firing cases had been punished by the authority.
The would-be uprising of the people had been suppressed by convincing the family with a handsome amount as compensation by ministers' and MLAs', it added.
The Committee on Human Rights (COHR), Manipur also condemned the act of the AR blaming that security forces are doing whatever the thing they wanted under draconian law AFSPA.