People's Democracy

MANIPUR

AIDWA Demands Guilty To Be Punished

WHEN the union minister of state for home, Prakash Jaispal reached Imphal on July 20, a delegation of mass organisations including the Manipur state committees of AIDWA and DYFI went to meet him with memoranda from their organisations. They were however all arrested by the police including state secretary Romola and another AIDWA activist. They were released later.

In the memorandum given to the union minister, the AIDWA Manipur unit demanded severe punishment to the culprits belonging to the 17th Assam Rifles unit for the alleged killing of Miss Th Manorama Devi. It also demanded the revoking of “Armed Forces Special Powers Act” and “Disturbed Area Act” in the state.

Its state secretary Yumnam Romola Devi conveyed to the minister through the memorandum how the people of Manipur are greatly angry, distressed, unhappy and agitating for their rights against the gross violation of human rights, for right to life, against atrocities committed by the Indian Army on women. “This was an oft-repeated practice of the Indian forces against women in the name of counter insurgency operation. In the instant incident, some personnel of 17th Assam Rifles arrested a girl named Miss Thangjam Manorama Devi from her residence situated at Bamon Kampu in the district of Imphal East after giving a memo to her family at around 3 a m on July 11, 2004. Thereafter her dead body was found at 5.30 a m on July 12 at Ngariyan Ching, about 2.5 km away from her residence with suspicious signs of torture and rape. It can be mentioned that such incidents of atrocities have happened time and again in the past too”, stated Romola Devi. When the armed forces which are supposed to serve and protect the people act contrary and commit such heinous acts, the people’s sentiments are hurt, she stressed. 

The imposition of indefinite curfew in the entire city of Imphal by the state administration following the unprecedented naked demonstration staged by some women (mothers) before the main gate of the 17th Assam Rifles at Kangla was objected to by the AIDWA state unit. “It causes nothing but heavy inconvenience to the common people, particularly the daily wage earners”, stated the memorandum.

The minister was requested to give all help necessary to the state government to bring to book the culprits of the 17th Assam Rifles.