Congress points finger at police action
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 15 2023:
Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president K Meghachandra has claimed that the grandmother (Pishak) of its youth wing president N Popilal is a victim of police atrocity as 'she fell unconscious after her house was raided by a number of police personnel' .
He also asked what responsibility will the ruling party and the police take for the demise of Popilal's grandmother who is a mother figure to him (Popilal) .
Today, a number of Congress leaders including former Chief Minister O Ibobi, Gaikhangam, K Ranjit, K Meghachandra and party MLAs went to the residence of Popilal at Phayeng to extend solidarity to their member over the demise of his grandmother N Pishak last night.
The visiting Congress team paid their obeisance and prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace.
Speaking to media persons, K Meghachandra said that the death of N Pishak is associated with the attacks meted out by the BJP and the police after the controversial discussion hosted by Impact TV which was attended by Popilal as a party representative.
Claiming that the surrounding areas of the TV channel were surrounded by numerous BJYM volunteers on the day of the incident to attack Popilal, the Congress MLA continued that Popilal lodged a complaint to the police the following day.
For saying that the accusation levelled against Popilal regarding the assault on BJP spokesman M Sureshkumar was baseless, the Congress party was targeted and its office gate set on fire, firing rounds of shot at the residence of its vice president Hareshwar Goswami and other threats, he claimed.
Reiterating that the grandmother of Popilal fell unconscious after the raid by police at her house, K Meghachandra claimed that M Sureshkumar was attacked at around 9.15 pm of the particular day as per a statement of SDPO 'but the report submitted to the police said that the incident took place at around 9.30 pm' .
"The point is that Popilal was at his home at that time," he claimed and asked why the police raided the house 'on unfounded allegations and intimidating the family members' .
The CCtv footage which clearly shows that Popilal was at his home has been picked up by the police, the MPCC president said and asked what more evidence is required to prove his (Popilal) innocence.
Numerous attempts to suppress the voice of opposition by hurling bombs, firing have undermined the meaning of democracy, Meghachandra further stated.
O Ibobi, on the other hand, stated that the Congress party condemned the assault on the BJP spokesperson.
He also said that the grandmother of Popilal was a victim of atrocity as she died following a raid by a huge number of police personnel.
Saying that Popilal would surely show up before police if summoned properly, Ibobi asserted that the act in which Popilal is targeted is uncivilised.
Congress party doesn't like violence, he said and added that there is nothing to fear since 'we didn't do any wrong' .
"For truth, the Congress will stand and the truth will emerge someday surely," he said.