Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) has taken strong exception to the Yaingangpokpi incident on Friday, and the way related video clips of the same incident have been widely circulated on social media platforms.
Terming the incident of alleged police brutality on innocent citizens as ‘unfortunate,’ TKS in a statement jointly signed by its president Shimri Raising and general secretary Yuimi Vashum stated that the association is leaving it to authorities concerned to conduct an impartial probe on the matter.
It is the duty and obligation of police to act in a dignified and lawful manner under every situation, and such a wanton public display of violence depicts a sorry picture of the revered men in uniform. “Unleashing such brutal attacks upon ordinary citizens sullies the image of the police and portrays a sad case of law-keepers turning into lawbreakers,” it added.
TKS further stated it is saddened by the grossly inappropriate behaviour of the thronging bystanders who were heard encouraging the police during their assault on the citizens in blatant violation of all the COVID SOPs and total curfew in place now.
“Such actions amount to abetment of offence and is therefore highly condemnable,” TKS stated urging authorities concerned to take cognizance of the aforementioned points of concern and ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.
Meanwhile, sources told the Imphal Free Press that the situation could have been amicably resolved between the two parties through dialogue right there on the spot at Yaingangpokpi.
The police had reportedly signaled an Imphal-bound vehicle to halt but the vehicle stopped some steps away from where it was asked to halt. Following this, a verbal duel ensued between the police personnel and the driver of the vehicle. In the ensuing verbal duel, a police personnel allegedly hit the driver with his gun butt, and when the driver pointed a finger at the police personnel he was allegedly assaulted again leading to an exchange of blows, sources said.
The four passengers including the driver were coming from Ukhrul to Imphal due to unavoidable circumstances. After hearing the civilian side of the story, some of the police personnel told them to go while others made the passengers wait for the OC of Yaingangpokpi police station.
After the OC reached the spot, a police personnel who arrived with him allegedly assaulted a male passenger who sustained injuries. The injured passenger had told the police officer to settle the matter amicably at the spot since it is a silly matter, and the OC also reportedly accepted that it was due to misunderstanding on his part that led to the unfortunate incident, sources added.
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