Candle Light Vigil organized at Delhi against custodial killing in Thoubal

24th December, 2018

Candle Light Vigil organized at Delhi against custodial killing in Thoubal

CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL ORGANIZED AGAINST THE CUSTODIAL KILLING IN THOUBAL!
DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ARREST OF THE PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THE CRIME!
HIGH COURT SUPERVISED INQUIRY DEMANDED INTO THE CASE!

North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) activists along with other democratic organizations today organized a Candle Light Vigil at Arts Faculty, Delhi University against the custodial killing of a person in Thoubal district of Manipur. The protest demonstration was supported by a large number of students from North-East as well as different states of the country.

The incident happened on Thursday when a combined force of 26 Assam Rifles and police commandos attached with Thoubal district police picked up Md Abdul Gaffar from his house at Lilong Usoipokpi Makha under Lilong police station of Thoubal district, early around 2.30 am. Later, his family was informed about the death and that his body was deposited at JNIMS morgue in Imphal around 8 am. Hospital sources said that the security personnel brought Gaffar at the casualty ward of JNIMS hospital where doctors on duty declared him brought dead.

Candle Light Vigil organized at Delhi against custodial killing in Thoubal

The incident once again highlights the impunity with which crimes against people are being perpetrated in the name of security. Such incidents of illegally detaining innocent people and killing them in custody or in fake encounters have been a regular feature in the state. Last year, a probe was ordered by the Supreme Court into the fake encounter killings in Manipur.

The impunity granted to the security and police personnel to kill people or silence them though coercive measures, has created an atmosphere of fear in the people of Manipur and North-East. The fear is part of a larger paradigm being set in the country, of curbing people’s rights through coercive legal and extra-legal measures. The present case is but a link in the series of such incidents emerging across the country.

NEFIS stands for protecting the democratic rights of the people and demands that all the Assam Rifles and Thoubal police personnel involved in the killing of Gafar should immediately be arrested. Also, an inquiry should be conducted into the case supervised by the High Court. NEFIS has also pledged to intensify movement against such killings in North-East in collusion with armed forces, in the coming days.

Alim Khulakpam,
Member,
North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS)