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| Devotees at Shree Shree Govindajee Temple in Imphal on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections |
Imphal, Aug. 15 : Manipur today observed a low-key Janmashtami with many people in the valley holding rallies and sit-ins as talks between chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Sanjit joint action committee failed to break the deadlock this morning.
After the meeting, the first since the alleged fake encounter on July 24 in which police allegedly gunned down former militant Ch. Sanjit and Rabina Devi, a passerby, eight members of the committee arrested yesterday were, however, released this evening.
The series of agitations over the killings and subsequent imposition of curfew to crush it dampened the festive spirit of Janmashtami celebrated by the Hindu Meiteis every year.
The Ibobi Singh government today announced a 12-hour curfew relaxation from 5am for the festival.
But the footfall of devotees at Shree Shree Govindajee Temple and Mahabali Temple here and the Iskcon temple on the city’s outskirts — the main centres of the celebrations— today was less compared to previous years.
As sit-ins and rallies continued in Imphal East and Imphal West demanding action against police personnel involved in the killings, an eight-member delegation of the committee, led by its convenor Th. Anita, met Ibobi Singh and submitted a five-point charter of demands.
Earlier this week, the Apunba Lup had submitted a memorandum to Governor Gurbachan Jagat demanding punishment to the guilty personnel and dismissal of the state government.
After meeting Ibobi Singh, Anita, said: “We met the chief minister. We placed before him a five-point demand. He promised to look into some of them. We will not call off the agitation until our demands are met.”
The demands include dismissal of the commando personnel, a CBI inquiry and action against senior police officers, including the director-general of police, for misleading the chief minister.
The other demands are handing over the home portfolio, currently looked after by Ibobi Singh, to another minister, a special Assembly session to discuss the case and clarify that the death of the woman and injuries inflicted on her were not caused by Sanjit.
Ibobi Singh promised to take whatever action necessary after completion of the judicial inquiry, which is yet to start.
“We will closely monitor the steps taken by Ibobi Singh. In the meantime, we will continue our agitation,” Anita said.
The eight members of the committee, were in police custody. They had been picked up by the police while coming to demonstrate when Ibobi Singh was unveiling a statue of Manipuri hero Thangal General here yesterday morning.
Nearly a hundred women took out a rally at Khumbong in Imphal West today. The rallyists, who were coming towards Congress MP Thokchom Meinya’s home, were dispersed by the police about 200 metres from the MP’s residence.
Before taking out the rally, the protesters held a sit-in at Moidangpok, the adjoining village. The women protesters also took out a rally at Khabam Lamkhai while another group of protesters staged a sit-in at Keirao in Imphal East.
There were reports of sit-ins and rallies in other parts of the twin districts of Imphal. Greater Imphal , however, remained violence-free throughout the day.