Youth charged for cycle theft, lynched
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Kakching, October 09 2014:
Tension prevailed in Sangaiyumpham and adjoining areas since last evening after the recovery of the body of a youth who was taken away from his home by some persons from a neighbouring village on the charge of stealing bicycles.
According to sources, the deceased who is a VDF personnel identified as Md Ahamatullah alias Abocha, 28, son of Md Enayatullah of Sangaiyumpham was escorted from his home by a group of men from Wangjing Keithel area at around 7 pm last night.
After brutally beating him to death, his body was left at a spot at Wangjing Wangkhei Leikai Laikhuram Leirak about an hour later.
Thoubal Police took the body and kept it at RIMS Morgue for necessary examinations.
A public meeting was called early this morning at Sangaiyumpham Idigah Lampak in connection with the murder and a body called the JAC on the Brutal Killing of Md Abocha alias Ahamatullah was formed.
The resolutions adopted at the meeting demanded an investigation into the crime to trace and book the persons involved in the killing, maintaining that the deceased was an innocent person and his killing is intolerable.
It was agreed that his body will not be claimed until the guilty persons are arrested and various forms of agitations will be taken up by the JAC until the demands are fulfilled.
The meeting further appealed to the people of neighbouring villages - Lamding, Wangjing, Samaram, Khangabok and Tentha - to support the actions taken up by the JAC overlooking all differences.
Local MLA Okram Landhoni arrived at the ground while the meeting was still underway.
She met the family members of the deceased there and gave her promises that maximum efforts will be made from her side to arrest the guilty persons and hand out fitting punishment to them.
She consoled the family members by passing on the information provided to her by Thoubal Police that two suspects had already been put in police custody and the rest will be arrested soon.
After the meeting was over, a rally was taken out by the JAC from the ground to the office of Thoubal SP and a memorandum was submitted to the superintendent of police.
The demands listed in the memo called for arrest of the perpetrators of the murder of the VDF personnel and fulfillment of its demands by October 11.It reiterated the point that the body will not be claimed till his killers are booked.
Earlier, the participants of the rally were detained at Wangbal Khongnang Makhong by the police and only a team of selected persons from among them was allowed to proceed to meet the SP.
Vice-president of BJP Manipur unit Th Jadumani arrived there and joined the demonstration.
Meanwhile, the people of Sangaiyumpham took strong exception of the reports published in a local newspapers mentioning that a cycle thief was arrested and handed over to the police.
Urging the media to verify its reports before publishing them, it pointed out that according to the report the thief was handed over to the police while the police version asserted that the body of the VDF personnel was found at around 8 pm last evening.
It raised a question whether the reports is inferring that the victim died in the hands of the police.
At the same time, a rally and a public meeting were jointly organized by meira paibi groups and local clubs and organisations against the rise in crimes in Wangjing and its neighbouring localities.
The meeting expressed regrets at the end result of the chain of events taking place on October 8 in connection with a cycle theft.
As a precautionary measure to stop repetition of similar incidents in the area, the meeting resolved to impose a curfew on entry of outsiders into the village from 8 pm.
Meanwhile, during the rally the participants shouted slogans against rising crimes and unjustified defense of criminals who had been caught red-handed.