A polling agent for INC candidate Bimol Akoijam in the 6/3 Kyamgei Heibong Makhong in respect to the election of Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency which was held on Friday has come forward with alarming allegations of intimidation and assault.
The polling agent Yumnam Shanta claimed that he was forcibly removed from the polling station and physically attacked by a group of around 100 armed ‘men in black’.
The incident, Santa recounted, began when he opposed the use of proxy votes in favour of the BJP. “The incident started when I opposed proxy voting in favour of the BJP as a polling agent,” Santa stated during a media briefing at the INC candidate’s residence in Imphal.
During this harrowing incident, Santa recounted that his wife, Yumnam (O) Mombi Leima, and his sister, Medha intervened and rescued him from further assault and a potential abduction by the armed mob.
Emphasising the seriousness of the situation which occurred between 9 am and 10 am on polling day, he said following that incident, their family locked themselves indoors inside their house.
He highlighted that the official cameras installed at the polling stations would offer irrefutable evidence of the incident.
Detailing the later part of the incident and her own harrowing experience, Mombi recounted how the armed mob forcibly entered their home, breaking down the locked gate.
“When I confronted the armed men in black who entered our house, they strangled my neck and fired some open rounds at the roof and the ground,” she said, adding that the attack was due to her husband’s commitment to a free and fair election.
The armed group left only after threatening to set their house on fire later that night, she added. The family has since filed a complaint with the police.
Santa questioned the essence of democracy when armed groups are allowed to blatantly interfere in elections, right under the noses of security forces from both the central and state governments.
He called on all civil bodies in Manipur to condemn the incident and demand justice and fairness in the electoral process and also urged the election authorities to consider a re-poll for the 6/3 Kyamgei Heibong Makhong polling station.
Adding another layer of complexity to the situation, Medha revealed that her son is also a member of the group which the armed men in black belong to.
Stating that the group was originally formed to protect Manipur from external threats during the ongoing crisis, she expressed her dismay that the organisation had now aligned itself with a political party like the BJP and was involved in intimidating voters.
“As I have revealed the name of the organisation, I don’t know what will happen to me after this press conference,” Medha added, highlighting the gravity of the situation and the risks involved in speaking out.
