Imphal, March 11, 2010: The proscribed Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) has rebuffed the statement of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi which apparently linked the outfit to the double murder case of Phayeng.

A press release issued by the outfit's department of publicity chief GM Chan-gjou alleged that the State Government has been wor-king hard to link the brutal murder of Chanbi and her daughter Menaka with the outfit.

This is not surprising since the State Government has been attempting to blame the insurgent groups for many issues when it is unable to discharge its duties properly.

In the same vein, the State Government put in extra efforts to project the out- fit in the wrong light with regard to the party's new stance on non-Manipuris, though unsuccessfully.

Even as non-Manipuris living in Manipur are friends of RPF, they are being targeted and killed by unidentified persons unabated.

In spite of this, neither Chief Minister O Ibobi nor his Council of Ministers nor the RPF could not do anything to save non-Manipuris.

Under such circumstances and if the killing spree continues, the relationship between non-Manipuris and the party may be seriously jeopardised.

It was with this perspective the RPF appealed to non-Manipuris to leave the State for safer places.

But the Ibobi-led Government quickly unleashed a propaganda accusing the outfit of building up communal tension.

In the same manner, the Chief Minister attempted to link the murder of the mother-daughter duo with the outfit on a very flimsy ground that one of Chanbi's son was among the deserters who fled away from the party whereas the Government has been unable to pull up or book any accused in the brutal, double murder case.

There are reports that the Chanbi's son, after leaving the RPF, joined another outfit which he deserted soon taking weapons along with him.

Then would the Chief Minister just imagine and claim that the second outfit might have killed the mother-daughter duo, the outfit asked.

The RPF/PLA never harassed or collected prices of weapons from innocent family members because their sons/daughters fled away from the party with weapons either to join other outfits or surrender to security forces.

The outfit's stand on the matter is very clear.

It is a matter of policy for the outfit not to issue clarifications for matters/issues not related to it.

But the State Government's attempt to take advantage of the outfit's silence to connect the heinous crime with the party when it (Government) was unable to tackle the activities of the partly taken up recently is a matter of shame.

The RPF/PLA does not pay any importance to the words of a man like Chief Minister O Ibobi who could deny having said what he actually uttered, the outfit alleged referring to the Khwairamband Bazar incident.

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