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Imphal, May 19
The indefinite general-strike called at Imphal-Ukhrul road by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in protest against the killing of an innocent student hasimmensely affected normal life today. AMSU also spearheaded sit-in-protests in various schools condemning the said incident.It may mentioned that a team of Imphal East police commando shot dead a young man named Konsam Korounganba on Monday evening who was coming in a car and injured one of his friends, while their two remaining friends Premananda and Manoj were arrested and kept in the police’s custody. Condemning the inhumane killing of Korounganba, a JAC was formed by the locals of Khurai Konsam Leikai and announced indefinite general strike in the Imphal Ukhrul road since yesterday. It said that the agitation will continue until the state government gives befitting punishments to the commando personnel who were involved in the crime.
Since early morning, locals of that side came out in large numbers and blocked any kind of movement in the road by piling up stones, tree branches and by setting tyres and other objects on fire. The impact of the strike was visibly very strong from Lamlong Bazar to Sawombung Bazar turning. Later in the afternoon, a sit-in-protest was held at Lamlong Bazar and hundreds of protestors also took part in a protest rally by the JAC. The rally aimed to march upto CM’s Bungalow. However, the mob was stopped by the police and allowed some leaders of the JAC to pass through and meet the CM.
In the meeting, the JAC demanded immediate termination of the commandos involved in the incident. However, Chief Minister did not comply with the demand, but assured to meet the remaining demands such as punishment to the responsible commandos, seizing of ammunitions from them and others. As a result, the JAC and the government did not come into an amicable solution. After returning from the meeting, the disappointed JAC members decided to launch stronger forms of protests until its demand is met.
On the other hand, All Manipur Students’ Association (AMSU) also spearheaded many sit-in-protests at various colleges and educational institutions condemning the barbaric act of the police commando who killed an innocent student. AMSU also strongly demanded punishment to the culprits at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Chanura Marup of Manipur People’s Party (MPP) also condemned the May 17 incident at which police killed a student, injured another and arrested two more students. A press statement released by the Chanura Marup questioned whether the state government is issuing arms and ammunitions to the uniformed security personnel to involve in such kinds of barbaric crimes, and added that such incidents are indeed very rare in world history and should not be repeated again.
It also demanded strict and exemplary punishment to the culprits, and appealed the public not to calm down with their agitations until justice is delivered. MPP Chanura Marup also appealed the state government not to solve such incidents by merely giving ex-gratia amounts to the victims.
