NNN
IMPHAL, February 9
The act of killing of an elderly person after being kidnapped by suspected Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) has received strong condemnation from various social organizations based in Tamenglong area.
A local businessman identified as Gondaimei Angam (61), a resident of Marangching Part-V of Tamenglong district was shot to death by suspected cadres of the ZUF on Sunday after whisking away from his place.
“The killing of the elderly person by ZUF cadres is strongly condemned,” a joint statement of the Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF), Zeliangrong Baudi (Assam, Manipur and Nagaland), Zeliangrong Students’ Union Manipur, Zeliangrong Union (ZU) Nungba Zone and VACC Longmai area said. Even if any misdeed or wrong might have been committed by the deceased, killing of any person without giving any room for correction or mending his ways was inhuman and gross violation of a person’s liberty to life, the joint statement said.
It further denounced leveling of allegations to a person after killing him observing that heaping of allegations over a dead person is not the culture of Nagas and Zeliangrong in particular. As such the allegations leveled against the deceased is not acceptable, the statement said.
The civil organizations also asked whether the responsible organization had given prior information to civil organization leaders regarding the allegation.
The people have been observing and taking records regarding the performance and activities of any armed organization as such as far as the observations of the people to ZUF since its inception was a matter of concern as the organization has committed several anti-people activities in the recent past, the statement added.
Reiterating the claim of the formation of the organization was to pursue social cause, the statement alleged that the treatment meted out to the people was “paradoxical”. As such let there be no such similar incident in future, the statement also said.
Hinting of launching a protest against the killing of the elderly person, the joint statement added that a public meeting will be convened after the funeral service of the deceased to decide the type and mode of protest.
Meanwhile, the dead body has been taken back by the family members after the post mortem at RIMS morgue today. The funeral service would be held at his native village this late evening, according to the family members.
The public meeting that followed the funeral service has reportedly resolved to urge the responsible organization to clarify the reason behind the killing on or before February 10. If it fails to clarify future course of action will be discussed in a meeting to be convened on the next day, a report said.
