Police with riot gears deployed at ZEO CGpur; shutdown spreads to all offices
Source: The Sangai Express

CCpur, March 13 2018: Barely three days after several student bodies based in Churachandpur locked the ZEO office here in compliance with ATSUM's calls for agitation in all the hill districts, a showdown literally ensued as the student bodies and the local authorities took turn in locking and unlocking the office since yesterday, leading the former to resort to shut down of more offices.

The local administration involving the Deputy Commissioner, an SDC, the ZEO and a police team comprising of the SP, the Additional SP and several others yesterday at around 4.30 pm broke the bolt use for locking the gate and doors of the ZEO office to thwart the ATSUM shutdown.

The action of the local administration was responded by the student bodies today at about 11.30 am by locking the main gate again.

The students' action was immediately responded with another round of shattering the bolts and by deployment of more manpower complete with riot-gear.

The students then went their way to shut down more offices including the district transport office and some of the SDOs located in and around the town.

A couple of local reporters along with a police team who were inside the ZEO premises at the time were momentarily bolted inside the campus when the students carried out their second shut down while this correspondent was confronted by a VDF personnel who claimed that photography was prohibited at the ZEO gate when he went to capture the police with riot gear posted there.

Addressing the press later in the day, student bodies comprising of KSO, HSA, MZP and ZSF lamented the actions of the district administration and the way it" handled the situation and took strong exception to the 'high-handed' response it had opted without ascertaining as to why they have resorted to such a move.

It is truly unfortunate that Shyam Lai Poonia, the Deputy Commissioner of the district is the only Deputy Commissioner in the whole state to have reacted with force or deploying a police force, without understanding the grievance of the tribals.

His counter-parts in other tribal dominated districts of the State are not immature or impish like him.

One can only construe that he is anti-tribal or just plain sadistic,' said a joint statement issued and signed by the presidents of four student bodies - HAS-Jqtrs, MZP-HQ(M), KSO CCPur, and ZSF GHQ.

They further questioned whether the Deputy Commissioner is trying to turn the district into his personal fiefdom or into a police state and the public as his subjects.

They also described his actions as contempt, disrespect and a challenge upon the community-mandated student bodies.

For any untoward incident arising out of this fight for the rights of tribals, the DC and the SP will be held solely responsible, it adds.

In response to the action they so loathe, the student bodies resolved to widen their shutdown to all government offices in the district beginning today and not merely confine to the ZEO office as was declared earlier.

The shutdown, it said, will continue until an amicable agreement is reached on the issue and warned that, staffs of the various Government departments may attend their offices at their own risk.

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