Imphal, November 07: Hearing on the June 18 and July 20 incidents by the C Upendra Commission of Inquiry continued today with two chiefs of the state fire service, a duty magistrate and a victim testifying before the commission.

William Khuptinlun, director of fire services, in his statement said as per instruction of the SP, Imphal West, on June 15, he kept six fire brigades prepared to meet any contingency and instructed the joint director and technicians to give prompt response to any signal from the police.

Joint director of fire services Nameirakpam Noren Singh, deposing before the commission, confirmed the director's statement and said he acted accordingly.

On June 18, he said his office received several telephonic complaints about burning of the Assembly building, the chief minister's bungalow and quarters of MLAs.

However, his fire brigade team could not reach the spots in time since the streets were blocked by the crowds.

Later in the afternoon, with assistance of the police, they managed their way through the huge crowds and reached the buildings which were by then engulfed by blazing fire.

He said former MLAs K Tomba Singh and Bihari Singh were rescued from the blazing Assembly building by his team along with a few among the crowd.

The same afternoon, his team also reached the chief minister's bungalow which was also burning and spotted three bodies lying inside the complex.

A victim of the, June 18 firing, Naoroijam Dhomen of Khurai Konsam Leikai, who received a bullet injury at his left thigh, also deposed before the commission.

He stated that voluntarily taking part in the protest on June 18, he was among the crowd which brought former Speaker S Dhananjoy from the Assembly building upto the Raj Bhavan.

The furious crowd could not be controlled by the security forces, he said.

Around 1.30 pm, while standing at the southern gate of the Raj Bhavan he heard gunshots from the CM's bungalow.

He along with some members of the crowd proceeded towards the bungalow and when they reached Nuptial complex he was hit by a bullet fired from the southern gate of the Raj Bhavan.

He was picked up and evacuated to JN hospital by state police and he underwent treatment for two days there, he said.

On the other hand, one of the duty magistrates of the July 20 incident, Lamabam Kiran Kumar, SDC Jiribam, deposing before the commission said he was posted as duty magistrate near Uripok traffic point on the day.

Around 1 pm, he saw students in a rally approaching the spot from Nagamapal road who were stopped by the police by erecting barricade near the Shamu Makhong.

After negotiation With the Imphal West DC and SP, 25 representatives of the rallyists were taken to the Raj Bhavan while the rest remained there.

After about 30 minutes when the students became restive and tried to break the barricade, the police asked them to vacate the area, he said.

When they refused, the police used fire tenders to disperse them while students pelted stones prompting the police to resort to baton charge and tear gas shells, he added.

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