TKSU stir
Source: The Sangai Express

CCpur, August 20 2018: The shutdown of Government offices imposed by TKSU in demanding the removal of Deputy Commissioner Churachandpur has today resulted in a brief standoff with the police at several locations leading the student body to opt for an impromptu closure of shops and all other establishments at Tuibong area but without interrupting traffic movement, reports our correspondent.

Besides the shutdown of Government offices, imposition of a 24 hour total shutdown, beginning midnight of August 22 to midnight August 24 is the other course of agitation the TKSU had announced earlier, if the Government still fails to pay heed to their demand.

Hours before of the stand-off ensued between the shutdown volunteers and the State police at about 10.30am, an arson attempt by unidentified persons at the SDO Churachandpur office located at Headquarters Veng was foiled with the intervention of alert locals.

Multiple sources including the cake-taker of the Sub-Divisional Office said they heard a cruising sound of a motorbike just before they detected fire at one of the doors of the SDO office, about 20 minutes past midnight.

The care-taker along with the local residents immediately intervened and doused the fire that partially burnt the door.

About 3 hours later, another arson attempt was reported at the District Fishery Office located at Tuibong.

Here the fire when detected by the caretaker was already raging three rooms of the office.

The DFO chamber as well as the head clerk's cabin suffered varying degrees of burn before the fire could be doused but the general section of the office with all its furniture and documents were virtually reduced to ashes.

It may be recalled here that the TKSU, displeased with the Deputy Commissioner Churachandpur Shyam Lal Poonia over his conduct has been demanding his removal since the past few weeks and had since prevented him from attending office.

With no signs of their demand being met by the Government they decided to widen the shutdown to all Government office beginning today.

With the threat of several offices being shut down looming large, the Superintendent of Police issued an order yesterday detailing officials and the number of personnel to be on duty at specific areas.

The order was widely circulated in social media last night itself leading the shutdown supporters to turn-up in hoards to counter the security deployment.

Eventually a stand-off ensued.

The shutdown on Government offices was soon turned into a shutdown of all establishments within Tuibong proper with several institutions that had started their routines opting to cancel classes, midway.

Meanwhile several student bodies including the KSO Churachandpur, Siamsianpawlpi Joint Hqtrs Lamka and the Zomi Students Federation GHQ have condemned the arson at two Government offices in the wee hours of August 20 .

While they all called on the public to safeguard all public properties and take measures to prevent the recurrence of such activities, the KSO said the act of arson by some vested interest with criminal intent to create social disharmony in the district is highly condemnable.

The SSPP Jt Hqtrs Larrika said it shall stand with the District Administration in their endeavour to maintain peace and harmony to being about continued progress in the district and appealed to the local authority to not rest until they bring the responsible individuals and/or group(s)/organisation(s) to book.

The ZSF in the meantime maintained that had it not been for the timely intervention of Thangboi Gangte, SDO Churachandpur and the civic conscious people living nearby, the entire SDO building could have burnt down.

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