Traders mull defamation suit against ITLF, file FIR
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 30 2023:
Imphal police station has registered an FIR against Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) spokesperson Ginza Vualzong on July 29 on the charge of inciting enmity between ethnic groups and spreading rumours.
As per the complainant, Ginza Vualzong has been fanning enmity between different ethnic groups by circulating statement with intent to cause fear/alarm to the public or promoting hatred or ill-will between different communities with common intention.
The FIR filed against Ginza Vualzong under section 152-A/500/505(l) (b) / 505(2) / 34 IPC has been transferred to Khongsang police station of Noney district for further necessary action.
Economic and Resource Development Organisation (ERDO) and Thangal Bazar Traders Association have strongly condemned the statement issued by ITLF that goods train which arrived at Khongsang railway station on July 24 brought large numbers of weapons and ammunition.
ERDO secretary general Shanta Nahakpam told media persons during a press conference at Manipur Press Glub on Sunday that ITLF's attempt to drag traders of the state to the on-going conflict is not a right step.
He said that ERDO will file a defamation suit amounting Rs 2 crore against ITLF for tarnishing image of state traders.
Thangal Bazar Traders Association also clarified that goods brought by 12 train wagons on July 24 at Khongsang railway station were potato, onion, soft drinks and sugar.
Registering a zero FIR' based on a complaint by a trader, the police filed the case under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race etc., defamation, spreading rumours and creating ill-will between two communities.
The FIR will later be transferred to the Khongsang police station under Tamenglong district for investigation.
The complaint was filed by traders, who feared that their goods would be looted at the Khongsang railway station after Vualzong made a statement that the majority community was smuggling arms and ammunition into the valley through trains.
Khongsang is the last station in the state which is connected to the railway link.
Denying the charges as baseless, Vualzong said that filing of the FIR is yet another way by the state government to "suppress the voice of tribals" .
"Before this, our official Twitter account was withheld by the social networking site following a direction from the Manipur Police, and now this Zero FIR," he said.
The ITLF spokesperson termed the registering of case as "trivial" and added that the entire case is about sloganeering.
"I wonder why the state authorities turn a deaf ear when slogans like wiping out the entire (Kuki) tribal community are raised at rallies of the majority community," he said.