Kuki protesters in court, sent to jail
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Telegraph India A policeman
escorts two of the protesters in New Delhi on Saturday. Picture by Ramakant
Kushwaha New Delhi, March 24: The Kuki students who were arrested here
yesterday on charges of rioting were today produced in court and subsequently
sent to Tihar jail. Their bail plea has been fixed for Monday.
The students today levelled allegations of racism against the police and
accused them of molesting some of the girls who had taken part in a
demonstration against the alleged abduction of over 300 Kukis from Manipurs
Chandel district by the United National Liberation Front.
The students alleged that 30 of the 138 people arrested and produced in
Patiala court were not even part of the protest march taken out by Kuki
students from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street yesterday.
Grace Don Nemching, president of Siamsin Pawlpi, a Paite students
organisation, alleged that after an altercation with policemen near Parliament
Street police station, the police chased the fleeing protesters for about a
kilometre till Connaught Place. At this point, the police randomly arrested
people from the Northeast on the basis of their facial features. This clearly
indicates a racist connotation on the part of police and that is painful, she
added.
Some girls in the procession have complained to Outer Manipur MP Mani
Charenamei that the policemen on duty molested them, called them Chinese
and told them to go home to China. They said policewomen were not seen
controlling the protesters and young girls were pulled out of a bus and
sexually assaulted by policemen.
Refuting the allegations, deputy commissioner of police Anand Mohan said
sufficient number of policewomen had been deployed during the protest march
and the policemen did not touch the girls.
It was unprovoked hooliganism by protesters and as they were scattered amid
teargas shelling, policemen had to chase the boys. There were girls, too, among
the protesters, but the boys had to be arrested, he told reporters. He said
that 33 policemen were also injured in the clash.
The Kuki Students Organisation today claimed that they had taken out a
peaceful march.
The demonstration, however, did turn violent with the students using the
sticks on which they had mounted their placards to attack policemen. Sixteen
protesters were seriously injured in the clash.
Police have registered cases of rioting and damage to public property against
the arrested students. Cases of dacoity and robbery have also been registered
against five of them.
Charenamei said the students had officially given a memorandum on the
abductions to him on Friday. He will now raise the issue with the home ministry
and the ministry of external affairs.
Meanwhile, home ministry sources have said that the abducted villagers have
been released and would be brought back under protection.
Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh is also in the capital, but has
allegedly not made any attempt to help the students.
---------------------------------
Need Mail bonding?
Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
assam@assamnet.org
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
