'Save the bullets, use the spade'
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 18, 2009 -

Manipur has seen it all. Killings, violence, ethnic clashes, bloodshed, rapes, kidnappings, murders, in fact everything that are associated with the baser instinct of mankind has become something of a staple diet for the people of Manipur everyday.

However there are some incidents or killings which stand out from the others for their sheer brutality and the cold blooded manner in which lives are snuffed out so easily.

The killings of the Sub-Divisional Officer of Kasom Khullen, his driver and a Mandol will stand out as one of the most gory killings that the State has witnessed. The young officer and his two men were not killed in an ambush.

They were not shot dead. They were bludgeoned to death after being in the custody of their abductors for four days. Their lifeless bodies, when they were brought to RIMS morgue, told the story of the torture they underwent at the hands of their killers and their blood spattered heads clearly rang out the message that went through the minds of the killers - 'Don't waste bullets on them. Bludgeon them to death!'.

At the moment no one knows the motive behind the dastardly killings or the identities of the killers, but it is more than clear that the killers could not have been any rag-tag army.

The abducted officers and his men were kept in their custody for four days, with the State authority not able to trace them and this more than says that the whole thing was planned meticulously, something which only an organised group could have done.

Reports received here say that the SDO was abducted with five other men and the question is where the other three are at the moment? Do the police have any clue on the whereabouts of the three other men?

Are they safe or have they also met the same bloody end as the other three?

Are their bodies lying somewhere in the hills? These are some of the questions that come to our mind.

The killing of the three people can also have dangerous connotations and numb as we are by the sheer brutality of the cold blooded killings, we would like to appeal to everyone that no misunderstanding between communities should creep in.

The six men were abducted from Ukhrul district and the bodies of the three men were found at Senapati district.

Apart from the brutality involved in eliminating the young officer and his two men, there is something devilishly mischievous about the killers.

Taking six men captive in Ukhrul district and later carrying out the heinous deed at Senapati district smacks of a larger conspiracy at work.

Not surprisingly tension has started to grip the localities where the three men hailed from. It is here that we would like to appeal to all not to let their emotions get the better of them and to think and act rationally.

The young officer, Th Kishan was a gentleman to the core and any ugly developments that arise after his death would not be doing justice to his departed soul.

Let's respect that. On the other hand, the brutal killing is once again a telling commentary on the complete failure of the State Government to provide security to its citizens.

When the Namthalong blast occurred, what did the Government do? Nothing. What did the Government do when the CM's residence was attacked?

It blocked off all the roads leading to the CM's residence after 6 pm. With a Government which understands security only from the viewpoint of the VIPs what can we expect from it now, especially after the gruesome killings Nothing.