Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday said the government will not spare those persons involved in the recent alleged ‘attack on journalist’ Elangbam Rameshwor in Thoubal, irrespective of the political party they belong to.
Biren was speaking to media persons during a visit to the Govindaji Temple in Imphal and a meeting with members of Pandit Loishang to solve the issue of the structures being built inside the temple. The members of Pandit Loishang have been protesting against any sort of construction inside the premises of the Loishang as it has been a sacred place for Meitei religion. One of the members of Pandit Loishang had expressed earlier that construction of temples that are not related to Pandit Loishang and the indigenous religion is an attempt to tarnish the Meitei religion. The issue has been solved, he said.
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The chief minister also said the duty of a police is to take precautionary measures against any unwanted incident or crime instead of reporting after it has occurred. Every police personnel should be aware of their duty, he added.
Urging the police department to take precautionary measures before any crime could happen in connection with the election, Biren said the state has already passed a law against mob lynching and the government will not tolerate any form of mob violence.
In connection with the physical assault on Rameshwor, at least 13 names have been mentioned in the complaint filed by the victim’s family. Till date, no person in connection with the complaint has been arrested. However, police reported that a house-to-house search operation is continuing.
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Biren also appealed to the entire intending candidates not to create violence at the time of election campaign. He also said that while carrying out election campaigns, each intending candidate should advise their workers to maintain strict SOPs as a new mutant form (AY.4.2) of coronavirus has been detected in the state of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
As precautionary measures, the state government has intensified monitoring of people coming in the state which included medical check-up and COVID testing at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport, Mao gate and Jiribam.
On the other hand, the state home department had issued an order to surrender or deposit all licensed guns to nearby police stations on Monday in order to maintain law and order in view of the forthcoming state Legislative Assembly election 2022.
