PTI
NEW DELHI, JULY 24
THE fifth and last suspect in the case relating to the murder of a 29-year-old youth from Manipur was arrested tonight from Garhi area here, police said. Lokesh (25), also a resident of Garhi village, had been absconding after the other four suspects were arrested, a senior police official said.
The victim Akha Salouni was allegedly beaten to death by a group of five men in a suspected case of road rage in Kotla Mubarakpur in the wee hours of July 21. He was returning to his Munirka flat after a house party. The incident has triggered widespread anger among the Northeast community here.
Three suspects in the case–Sanjay Basoya (24), his cousin Shakti Basoya and Rajiv (25) were arrested from Garhi area on July 21, while the fourth suspect Azad Choudhary (24), a driver by profession and a resident of Garhi Village, was arrested yesterday. Amit Gupta, spokesperson in AIIMS said Salouni’s autopsy report suggested that death was caused due to multiple internal injuries to the neck, abdomen and brain, caused by blunt force.
A Delhi court had remanded Shakti, Sanjay and Rajiv to police custody till July 24 while Azad was remanded today to one-day police custody.
Police said the incident took place at around 3 AM when the youth, along with two friends, Dihe Kazhiihrii (25), who is also a resident of Manipur and Nagendra Sharma (40), a resident of Bihar, was returning after attending a party at his friend’s place at Masoodpur Colony.
Following the party, they hired an auto to drop Kazhiihrii to his home at Kotla Mubarakpur. When the auto reached Gurudwara Road, a car arrived from behind and started honking indiscriminately, police said.
The car occupants abused the auto driver, following which an argument ensued between Salouni and his friends and the five youth.
The argument soon turned ugly following which five youth, all of whom were apparently in an inebriated state, alighted from the car and attacked the three. While Kazhiihrii and Sharma managed to flee, Salouni was caught by them, according to the police.
Kazhiihrii called police at around 3:30 AM, after which a police team reached the spot and rushed Salouni, who was unconscious, to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where doctors declared him brought dead.
Manipur student body sets up cell
Correspondent
IMPHAL, July 24
THE brutal killing of Akha Salouni,a 30 year old youth from Tungjoy village in Manipur’s Sebapati district has forced the student body of the district to constitute a 5-member Public Grievance Cell (PGC) to look into various matters confronting our people in the metropolitan cities.
The decision to constitute PGC was taken in a consultative meeting of Senapati District Students’ Association (SDSA) in presence of head of the constituent units, leaders and elders of the district at Senapati town, 60 km north of Imphal on Thursday.
“The step has been taken up to contrive a stratagem to restrain the prevailing discriminatory and illicit conduct against the people of our district studying and working in India’s metropolitan cities,” says SDSA in a statement. “We have repeatedly fallen victim to racism, discrimination and intolerance while living in a country of so called unity in diversity.”
In a matter of just few months, we have encountered the brutal murder of Late Heshu Bernard in Gondia, Maharashtra on November 19,2013, Late Wilungbou Chawang in Chirag Delhi, New Delhi on July 6, 2014 and Late Akha Salouni in Kotla, Mubarakpur, New Delhi on July 21,2014,it added.
Expressing unhappiness over the state authority’s alleged failure to have a “lackadaisical attitude towards such barbaric act,” the student body alleged that state’s two Members of Parliament remained mute bystanders and help in any form was never extended. It is of great concern that while a lot of cases go unreported,
Stating that out of 358 cases registered with the Delhi police involving people of the northeast, 40 percent of the cases are associated with the people from the state of Manipur, it appealed to the Central Government to look into the matter and ensure maximum security for its citizens and expedite the process of delivering justice by sentencing befitting punishment to the accused under the law on the crimes committed on the victims.
“Otherwise, democratic agitation will be inevitable to ensure safety and well being of the people,” it warned. It may be worth mentioning here that the mortal remains of the Salouni,a former BPO employee was flown back to his home town on Wednesday for the last rites. MLAs move breach of privilege motion against Babloo Loitongbam, Impact TV.
