IRB man clears air on Ronaldo's death
Source: Chronicle News Service
Thoubal, July 05 2023:
Third IRB jawan Irengbam Rupachandra of Samaram Mayai Leikai, whose house was burnt down by a mob on the charges of snooting dead one Abujam Ronaldo of Heirok during the protest at 3 IRB camp in Khangabok on Tuesday, has clarified that he is not related to the shooting and appealed to the people of Heirok not to see him in bad light.
Speaking to newspersons at Khangabok on Wednesday, Rupachandra strongly refuted the allegations that he was armed while informing that he was holding a Multi-Shell Launcher, and not a firearm at the time.
With reference to people of Heirok claiming that there is video evidence of him holding a gun at the time of the incident, he requested that the said video be handed over to him or placed in the public domain.
If he was indeed holding a gun, he agreed to face any punishment by the people.
The IRB man continued that after the mob set fire to his house,, his entire family is facing serious inconvenience, not to mention the fear of staying at home.
Thus, he urged the people of Heirok to understand the truth of the matter and stop seeing him in the wrong way, while adding that he is also shaken by the death of Ronaldo.
Rupachandra's father Irengbam Binabond also expressed dismay over the mob burning his son's house without verifying the facts and urged all concerned to present the truth in the matter.
Meanwhile, the local club and Meira Paibi of Samaram Mayai Leikai staged a sit-in protest in front or Rupachan -dra's residence on Wednesday, condemning the mob attack on his (Rupachadra) house.
Speaking on the sidelines, a social worker representing the locality conveyed that people of Samaram are also saddened by the death of Ronaldo, who was killed during the protests at 3 IRB Battalion on Tuesday.
However, the crowd, unable to control their emotion, set fire to the house of Rupachandra, who was not involved in Ronaldo's death.
Thus, the social worker appealed to the government to ensure such incidents do not recur in the future and also to the people to verify the truth of the matter first before taking any action.
The social worker continued that the people of Samaram have been joining the movement to protect the integrity of the state.
IRB Rupachandra is well known in the area for his contribution and he is also aware of the people's sentiments.
He has already clarified to the locals that he is not involved in the shooting, the social worker iterated and as such urged the government to produce the real shooter instead.
During the sit-in, the protestors held placards inscribed with the slogans like "IRB Rupachandra is not guilty", "We condemn mob violence on innocent", "Produce the real murderer", "Reveal the truth of the murder", and "IRB Rupachandra is not involved in Ronaldo's death" .
Mention may be made here that during Tuesday's incident, one Ronaldo of Heirok was shot dead and over 20 people including an AR trooper left injured.
The protestors also burned down one AR Gypsy and later, damaged and set fire to Rupachandra's house in the afternoon.