Women vendors stage a public rally to denounce the recruitment of child soldiers

Clash inside Sajiwa jail
Report submitted, but details held back
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 29 : Report of the Departmental Inquiry instituted to investigate into the riot that took place amongst undertrial prisoners inside Sajiwa Central Jail on May 24 this year has been submitted to the Government.
While 39 prisoners sustained injuries of varying degrees, a room of the jail was also burnt during the riot.
According to the inquiry report, the riot could not be averted or controlled in time due to shortage of jail staff, conveyed an official of the Jail Department.
The inquiry into the riot was conducted by the SP of Central Jail Imphal. Acting on the Departmental inquiry report, the DG Prisons has proposed to the Government to increase jail staff. In response, the Government has agreed to fill vacant posts, informed the official.
Interestingly, even as there is strict prohibition on taking any object that can be used as weapons or cause fire in jail premises, many prisoners used such objects which could cause death such as swords, iron rods, broken bottles, bricks, clubs etc. Moreover, they also used fuel to set fire on the structures located inside the jail premises during the May 24 jail riot.
In the clash, 12 prisoners belonging to PULF, two of KCP, one each of UNLF, PLA, seven belonging to KYKL, one prisoner of KRA (U), nine PREPAK prisoners and six other undertrial prisoners sustained injuries.
In the aftermath of the clash, the Home Department sent 40 Home Guards to enhance the strength of the jail staff, conveyed the official while strongly contending that it’s time to follow a separate jail manual for Manipur rather than following the Assam Jail Manual.
Prisoners languishing in the jails of the State are serving their jail terms just having their square meals a day. They are not provided any facility to inculcate good morale and better knowledge. There is no facility for schooling or library or to engage in any work. Under such circumstances, it is hard to imagine for the prisoners to undergo any change in their mental set-up, noted the official.
Disclosing most of the UG cadres pay more attention to their seniors/superiors than to the words of jailors even if it was for their welfare, he said that as such there is no scope to reform the undertrials.
Observing that the number of undertrials involved in various crimes has been increasing than the number of UG prisoners in both Sajiwa Jail and Central Jail Imphal, the official asserted that the increase of criminals has become a cause of quarrels and fightings inside jail premises.
Under the changing scenario there is a need to establish jail protection armed force and to arm jail staff otherwise it would not be long before prisoners started dictating jailors, he cautioned.

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Enraged Lamlai people storming Lamlai PS and a dharna staged against recruiting child soldiers

Missing children: Public storm Lamlai PS
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 27: Infuriated over the missing of three children from Nungoi and Challou under Lamlai Assembly Constituency of Imphal East district, the locals stormed Lamlai police station demanding that they produce the individuals being detained in the police station in connection with kidnapping children.
Interestingly, even as there was a great din and loud altercations at the police station, some unidenti- fied persons attempted to take away a boy belonging to Yaingangpokpi Makha Leikai after tying up his hands. Later acting on unconfirmed reports that those individuals who attempt to kidnap the child were in Joyland hills near Shabungkhok, the local people went there and hunted for the kidnappers.
The three children from Nungoi and Challou who have gone missing and whose whereabouts still remained untraced have been identified as Chongtham Robinson (13) s/o Sengoi, Luwangshangbam Birjit alias Tombi (15) s/o late Omra and Mutum Inao alias London (13) s/o Tochamu.
Robinson was reading in Lamjing Meira English School in class VII while Birjit was reading in Eternal Spring School in class VIII. Both of them belong to Nungoi. They went out together from the home of Robinson in the afternoon of July 7 before they went missing.
Mutum Inao of Challou was reading in Lamlai High School located at Challou Awang Leikai in class III. He went missing since June 30 when he went to watch a movie in Lamlai cinema hall.
Even though the three children went missing since many days back, necessary reports were made to police a few days back, informed a police source adding that for each missing children a case has been registered.
Closing down all shops at Lamlai Bazar, a public meeting was held today in connection with the missing children.
Many speakers addressing the meeting appealed to the public to be alert against child kidnappers.
Later, a large number of women took out a rally from Lamlai Bazar to Lamlai police station where they made vociferous demonstrations demanding to produce the four individuals being detained there in connection with kidnapping children. The visibly enraged mob pressed that they would question the detainees where they kept the children and to which organisation they handed over the children.
Shortly after, the mob tried to force open the gate of the police station and this led to tussle with police personnel.
Later some representatives including mothers of the three missing children were allowed entry into the police station where there was a brief talk between the two sides. Then the crowd turned back after they were convinced by the police officers that they could not meet detainees without permission from Court.
Coming back to Lamlai Bazar, the crowd of people held another meeting with local MLA and Health Minister Ph Parijat.
Addressing the meeting, Parijat asserted that it was time to wage a civil war against kidnapping children.
He also claimed that the Government has taken up several measures so that parents can live with peace of mind.
Of the various resolutions adopted during the meeting, the the primary ones were demand for capital punishment to child kidnappers, excommunication of child kidnappers from society, boycotting all organisations involved in kidnapping young children, demand to publish clearly the Government policy to curb kidnapping young children etc.
Even as the large crowd of women were trying to storm Lamlai police, around 10 individuals clad in block clothes attempted to kidnap a boy from Yaingangpokpi Makha Leikai at about 2.30 pm.
According to the boy identified as Ngangom Indrajit alias Nanaocha (16) s/o Manibabu, there was no one in the house when the incident took place. While his mother was away at Yaingangpokpi Bazar to sell vegetables, his elder sister Lakshmi also left home to join her mother. His father had already went away to attend a shradha ceremony.
As Indrajit was sleeping in the house with the kitchen door open, the unknown persons called out his name to which he woke up. But in the next moment, he was kicked at the chest. Soon they tied up his hands at the back and immersed his head in a plastic bucket containing water. Then the black clad men started thrashing him, he retold.
The local people opined that the unidentified persons might have left behind Indrajit as he lost consciousness.
Later acting on reports that the kidnappers were in Joyland hills near Shabungkhok, the local went there and hunted for the kidnappers. But they retreated as it was getting late.

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