Students rally for justice to Richard Loitam , Laaba
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 04 2012:
Demanding punishment of the culprits responsible for the death of Richard Loitam, a second semester engineering student in Archarya NRV School of Architecture, Bangalore and Okram Laaba, another Manipuri student studying in Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Chennai, volunteers and members of AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and SWAK took out a protest rally here today.
After the protest rally, a sit-in demonstration was also staged.
The protest rally commenced from Johnstone Higher Secondary School at around 10.30 am and proceeded till Samu Makhong where the sit-in demonstration was carried out amid shouting of slogans crying for justice to Richard and Laaba and demanding necessary legal procedure against the perpetrators.
Afterward, citing the area as a hyper sensitive zone, police dispersed the student protestors till the point of Wahengbam Leikai.
Undeterred by the police action, the student protestors continued with their demonstration at Wahengbam Leikai till 1 pm.
From there, the student protestors resumed their rally till Keishampat.
Later talking to mediapersons, Vice President of DESAM M Angamba expressed unhappiness over the alleged indifferent attitude of Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, who has not taken up any action in connection with the death of Richard and Laaba nor conveyed any condolences to the bereaved families.
Asserting that discrimination against students from North East region in other parts of the country is not a new thing, Angamba further demanded the Government of India to take up necessary measures to ensure protection of students from North East region.
To ensure justice to Richard and Laaba, AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and SWAK would continue to launch agitations, Angamba said, and announced that a human chain would be formed tomorrow and a mass rally would be taken out on May 7 .
Demanding punishment of the culprits responsible for the death of Richard and Laaba, similar sit-in demonstrations by students were also witnessed in different parts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishnupur districts today.