Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 30:
Even as the Review Committee was here to receive feed backs from the people on the excesses committed by the security force under the AFSPA, the State police have been accused of killing a youth after dragging him down from a bus yesterday at Nongren Chingmai.
Flatly refuting the police claim that the youth was killed in an exchange of gun fire, eye witnesses said that the youth was not killed in an encounter.
Ng Mecha Devi, president of Nongren Meira Paibi, who happened to be at the place when the youth was taken away by the police said, "The story of the police is utter nonsense.
Everybody saw the youth being dragged down from a Nongdam-Imphal passenger bus at about 10 am at Nongren Chingmai." The victim, Konjengbam Bimol of Moirang was coming back after attending Christmas festival at a Christian college, said Memcha and added that he was carrying only a bag of rice, given by his relatives and a CD cassette.
The bus was stopped by the police commandos at Nongren Chingmai, said the meira paibi leader and added that the youth was dragged down and thrashed severely.
Later he was taken away in a vehicle by the police, she said adding that at about 3.30 pm, they heard the loud reports of some gun fire from the side of Napet Palli.
Some policemen could be seen running up and down the hill with their guns, she added.
Smelling something fishy, the women folk rushed to Lamlai police station to enquire about the arrest of Bimol.
However they were told that there was no report of any arrest except the case of a youth shot dead as he did not stop when signalled to do so.
Strongly condemning the �extra judicial� killing of Bimol, members of 15 local clubs and meira paibis got together and formed a JAC Against the Extra Judicial and Staged Managed Killing of Konjengbam Bimol Singh today.
Crying for justice, the JAC has demanded the constitution of a Judicial inquiry into the matter to dig out the truth, adequate compensation to the family of the victim, befitting punishment of the policemen involved in the killing of the youth, to lodge a strong complaint with the Manipur Human Rights Commission against the State police, and complete removal of the AFSPA.
In a statement the JAC said that it does not wish to resort to strikes and bandhs but if their demands are not met soon, they will resort to intense agitation including refusal to take back the dead body and launch strikes and bandhs.
The JAC is headed by Jatra Mairembam as the convenor.