JCILPS sees red over police detention
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 10 2016:
The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) has decried alleged detention of their volunteers by Thoubal police led by an SDPO as they were returning from Kheba Hills where they undertook a verification exercise of migrant labourers engaged in construction works of the Khongjom War Memorial complex.
A joint team of JCILPS, JCILPS Women Wing and JCILPS Students' Wing went to Kheba Hills and checked whether migrant workers working there possess necessary documents or not.
As they crossed Wangjing Bazar, all the four vehicles in which the JCILPS volunteers were travelling were halted by Thoubal commandos led by SDPO T Shankar Deva.
The commandos not only detained the volunteers but also checked them including convenor Khomdram Ratan.
On being enquired about their detention, the commandos reportedly replied that they were being detained as some VIPS were coming to inspect the construct work being undertaken at Khongjom War Memorial Complex.
According to one contractor of Simplex Project which has been executing the construction work, around 40/50 migrant workers were working at the construction site but most of them had gone back to Assam on account of the Assembly elections being held in the State.
As such, majority of the labourers engaged in the construction work are local people.
Taking strong exception to the undue detention, Khomdram Ratan pointed out that it was the duty of the Government to check whether migrant labourers engaged in different projects taken up in the State possess necessary documents or not.
Rather than checking migrant labourers, the Government was harassing JCILPS volunteers who have been struggling to protect indigenous people of the land.
If such harassment continues any longer, JCILPS would be constrained to take up stringent counter measures.
The JCILPS volunteers also visited Yairipok Bishnunaha where a road construction work was going on.
The road was being constructed under ABCI Company and many migrant labourers were found engaged in the same work.
When enquired if they have mandatory documents, none of the labourers could produce a single valid identity proof document.
It is also not clear whether they are Bangladeshis or Nepalese or Indians, Ratankumar said.
He also expressed strong apprehension that the indigenous people would be outnumbered by immigrants if the free influx of immigrants including migrant labourers is not checked with due urgency.
He then invited ABCI officials to the JCILPS office tomorrow afternoon to discuss about migrant labourers who do not possess necessary documents.