Imphal, May 17 2010: Police today detained 63 employees including leaders of striking employees of JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO out of 69 rounded up while they were trying to convene a meeting at JAC office at Bapupara to discuss the fall-out of a failed talk held with the Chief Minister.

A meeting between Chief Minister O Ibobi and representatives of striking JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO was held at the Chief Minister's secretariat this afternoon.

But, the marathon meeting could not arrived at a point that agreed by two sides.

The representatives of the JAC went to the Chief Minister's bungalow to hold talk on their demands as agreed in the two rounds of meeting with the state forest, revenue and law minister, Th Debendra in the last days.

Power minister, T Phungjathang and officials of the state finance department including special secretary (finance) took part in the meetings.

As no consensus arrived on the demands of the JAC could not arrived in the meeting with the Chief Minister, leaders of the JAC came out of the talk at about 5 pm and converged at the JAC office at Bapupara to hold a meeting and discuss the matter again.

When the meeting was about to begin, a police team of Imphal west district police rushed to the office and rounded up all the 69 employees there and transported them to the Imphal police station.

Later, six women among them were released.

All the rounded up employees were divided into group of 16 each and kept in the custody of different police stations, reports said.

Speaking to reporters, a leader of the JAC included among the detained ones said that the action of the government is like crushing the neck of democracy in a democratic country.

As per advise from the government, they were about to hold the meeting.

When employees rushed to the police station to arrest them, police declined to do so but when they agreed to come to the negotiating table, they were arrested.

It is a wrongful step of the government.

With regard to the talk with government, he charged that government was efforted to force the representatives to sign an Memorandum of Understanding at the end part of the talk as they remain stuck to their stance that they would not signed it until government implement the sixth pay commission recommendation in toto.

They work out of the talk saying that they need a consultation before signing the MoU.

President of the JAC, information and publicity secretary Priyobarta were among other who had been rounded up and detained by the police.

Comment