Assault slur on Assam Rifles
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN

Imphal, December 27 2012: Two persons including a Zeliangrong student union leader were allegedly arrested and harassed by personnel of the 10th AR in Tamenglong district yesterday.

The Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF) and Zeliangrong Students Union Manipur (ZSUM) said today, "The high handedness, self styled, excessive and irresponsible nature of Assam Rifles to the Nagas have started re-surfaced when the 10th Assam Rifles stationed at Longmai (Noney) had created unnecessary trouble again that hampered the peaceful atmosphere at Longmai (Noney) areas by picking up of one student leader David Kamei, ZSUM information and publicity secretary and one Obed Kamei, a civilian both hailing from Longmai village along with the car (Accent) in which they were travelling in without any valid ground from the road diversion of Happy Colony at Longmai at about 6pm of December 26 and detained them at their camp till 1am and handed them over at the Longmai Police Station thereby released them this morning" .

The ZYF and ZSUM alleged that the Commandant of the 10th Assam Rifles identified as Ajay Sharma heaped fabricated, concocted and irrelevant charges on them and slapped the student leader without any reason and harassed him in various methods such as blind folding, bared his clothes in such a cold chilly night, made him kneel down, kept and confined him separately in one room along with some unknown persons.

The ZYF and ZSUM term it as an inhuman act to have been committed by only a beast.

They further alleged that one Major Thappa who is stationed at the camp also slapped the student leader and interrogated him with irrelevant queries.

The ZYF-ZSUM strongly condemned the 10th Assam Rifles unguaranteed, unauthorised and unlawfully activities perpetrated upon the innocent student leader and his colleague.

"The Assam Rifles whose slogan, "Friends of the hills people" has now turned into 'fox in sheep's skin' by intimidating the student leader and innocent public without any reason.

The very purpose of Assam Rifles or any security personnel is to protect lives and secure, see the well being of the citizens however, the presence of Assam Rifles in the midst of innocent and law abiding citizens has posed great threat as evident by the said incident.

The 10th Assam Rifles should issue public clarification fully giving convincing and justification to the public as to how and why the student leader was detained for such long hours without any appropriate ground and handed over to Police and released only after mentally harassed, physically abused, forcibly obtained signature on papers containing text of 'no objection' to the detention by the victim, threatened to keep mum etc during captive in the custody.

Such situation created especially during the festive season is uncalled for and also suspected to have acted on the instigation of people of anti peace," the ZYF and ZSUM added.

The ZYF-ZSUM urge the Assam Rifles' higher authority to issue proper, appropriate and necessary direction or instruction to the 10th Assam Rifles to issue public clarification regarding the misdeed committed and infringed upon the liberty of student leaders and innocent public.

The matter will be highlighted to the Central Govt for taking up necessary action against the Commandant and the Major of the 10th Assam Rifles, they warned.

ZYF-ZSUM also advised the Assam Rifles to prevail reasoning ability so that such incident of harassment meted out to student leader and the innocent civilian does not recur in future.

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