Owner of looted gun shop seeks investigation
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 15 2023: Proprietor of an arms dealer has lodged a complaint to Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) urging to issue directive to the DGP to investigate into looting of fire-arms, ammunition, cash and other valuable items from his shop during the riot on May 3 in Churachandpur town.

The complainant Chura-chandpur Gun House - arms & ammunition dealer & re-pairing proprietor N Ibom-cha Singh sought immediate intervention of the MHRC to ensure protection of life and properties of his and other Meetei inhabitants of Chura-chandpur, arrest of the cul-prits, recovery of looted guns and ammunition and adequate compensation.

In his complaint, Ibom-cha of Khumujamba Meetei Leikai, Churachandpur said he was apprehensive of tar-geting his shop on May 3 in view of highly charged tribal solidarity march on the day.

Accordingly, the district's SP and OC of Churachandpur PS were informed in time to col-lect the arms and ammunition from the shop but they failed to take up necessary action and instead asked to bring all the guns and ammunition to the police station, which indeed was very risky and impossible amidst the tension.

At about 4.30pm the same day, he along with his friend namely M Yoihenba rushed to the SP's office which is located opposite to the shop and tried to submit an application and handover keys of the shop to a policeman on duty.

How-ever, the policeman refused to accept the same.

At about 5pm, many people gathered in front of the gun shop and looted all the guns and ammunition, other items and cash after breaking the main door.

Police personnel present in the area made no attempts to stop the looting spree.

He also said that loot-ers took away 500 guns of different types including 17 repeators, 25,000 cartridges of 12 bore, 12,000 cartridges of point 22 rifle, 3,000 NPB car-tridges and huge numbers of pellets of air rifles.

Apart from this, the looter also took Rs 25 lakh cash from the shop, N lbomcha said in his complaint.

Thereafter, the looters started looting shops and business establishments owned by Meetei and started attacking people of the com-munity in the area and we rushed to SP office but police personnel on duty did not al-low Meetei people including him and his friend to take shelter at the office, lbomcha mentioned in his complaint.

Subsequently, many houses belonging to Meetei commu-nity in Churachandpur town including his were destroyed and burned.

Police person-nel on duty as well as central forces deployed in Chura-chandpur did nothing but kept watching the arson and vandalism, lbomcha main-tained and urged the MHRC to issue directive to DGP to arrest the culprits involved in the looting and recover the looted arms and ammunition.

He also demanded a departmental en-quiry against police personnel and other high ranking police officers deployed in the area.

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