'How will people live if protectors turn gun on them?'
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, April 20 2024:
Stating that the incident at Kyamgei Heirongmakhong polling station no.6-3 in Keirao during the polling for the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency on Saturday was due to preventing an attempt of proxy voting; Congress candidate Dr Bimol Akoijam's polling agent Yumnam Shanta has urged the authority concerned to conduct a re-poll at the polling station as many wrongful activities were carried out on the polling day.
Speaking to newspersons at Dr Bimol's residence in Keishamthong, here, on Saturday, Shanta recounted that when proxy voting was attempted at the polling station, the presiding officer was requested to take action but to no avail.
The state and central forces deployed at the location also did not take any action.
As such, when he objected to the proxy voting, 5-6 men dressed in black barged into the polling station and took him away.
When he returned home afterwards, a group of armed individuals came searching for him.
The group did not even spare his wife and tried to strangle her, he recalled.
He denounced the act of depriving the rights of the people, by those who pledged to do good for the people.
Thus, he urged for the cooperation of CSOs and Meira Paibi bodies in rectifying this wrongful conduct of election.
Meanwhile, family members of Shanta have alleged that Arambai Tenggol had carried out the assault.
Shanta's younger sister Khoirom Medha condemned the act of intimidating and assaulting people for the sake of votes.
She then said that if she were not present at the time, it would be impossible to say what would have happened to her brother.
She continued that if one has come forward to protect the motherland, he/she should do so instead of disregarding human life for the sake of votes.
She asked how the people are supposed to live if those who had come forward with the pledge to protect the people turn their gun on the latter.