| Killers of Manipur employees will be punished: Jagat | ||
Imphal, March 3 : Manipur Governor Gurbachan Jagat today assured a group of meira paibis (women activists) that the persons involved in the abduction and murder of three government officials last month would be punished. “All those involved in the crime shall be brought to book and be punished,” Jagat told the meira paibis at Raj Bhavan this morning. The governor, who was reacting to a demand for justice in the case, flagged off a trip organised by the office of inspector-general (South) Assam Rifles, during which 15 meira paibis of Imphal will see Delhi and Agra. They will be back on March 15. Though the governor had issued a statement condemning the incident, this is the first time that he has made any public comment on the matter. He added that the Ibobi Singh government was taking all possible measures to deliver justice in the case. Several political parties, including the BJP and the Manipur Peoples Party, submitted memoranda to the governor, seeking his intervention in arresting the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) cadres involved in the crime. Thingnam Kishan, a sub-divisional officer posted in Ukhrul, his driver Rajen Sharma and chainman Token Singh were abducted from the district on February 13. The trio were found murdered in Senapati district on February 17. The police and Assam Rifles found the three other officials, who were abducted along with the deceased, in ajungle in Ukhrul on February 21. The NSCN (I-M) admitted that the crime was “masterminded” by self-styled Lt Col H. Ningshen and that he would be punished. The governor’s directive came hours before the police foiled a protest rally in the district headquarters of Bishnupur. The police dispersed the people who gathered at a community hall this morning to protest against the killing of the three officers. The police also foiled their attempts to regroup at another place and took away the festoons and public address systems. The rally was planned under the aegis of the joint action committee formed in connection with the crime and the Apunba Lup, an apex organisation of citizen’s groups fighting for human rights. A delegation of protesters later submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the deputy commissioner of the district, K. Panmei. The memorandum demanded punishment for the culprits, criminal proceedings against suspended Ukhrul deputy commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pala, accusing him of complicity in the crime, and handing over of the three rescued officials to the public. Expressing his concern at the violence in the state, the governor appealed to the people to raise a united voice for peace. “If all of you want peace, there will be peace. Work for it,” he said. |
