Women protesters locked down the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Akampat, Imphal East, on Tuesday, amid several allegations made against the Assam Rifles and the demands raised to remove the force from Manipur.
Since the prevailing unrest erupted on May 3, various sections from the valley area have been alleging that some of the battalions of AR are taking sides of Kuki communities and closely working with the Kuki militants.
After the Pallel incident where 2 civilians succumbed to bullet injuries and many left injured from the alleged firing from Assam Rifles personnel, some CSOs along with the Manipur government have condemned the high handedness of the force towards the public.
As the movement to remove the Assam Rifles from Manipur gained momentum, the womenfolk of Singjamei Wangma Torban Kshetri Leikai locked down the administrative block of NIELIT, Akampat.
NIELIT is an autonomous scientific society under the administrative control of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MoE&IT), Government of India.
The womenfolk informed the official staff and faculties of the institute to remove their vehicles parked inside the campus and they locked the main gate of the institution.
The protesters chanted slogans such as ‘remove Assam Rifles from Manipur’, ‘Go Back Assam Rifles’ and others.
A team of Irilbung Police Station rushed to the spot after receiving information of the protests. A police team arrived around 11.30 am and broke the locks.
One of the protesters appealed through the media that the CSOs of Manipur, including the public, should support the movement against the Assam Rifles.
Various forms of movement continue with the support from the public until the Assam Rifles are completely removed from Manipur, he said.
Meanwhile, a release issued and signed by respective presidents of six student bodies appealed to the public to stop the movement of locking down central educational institutions.
If the central institutions such as RIMS, Manipur University, CAU, IIT Manipur, NIT, CIPET, ICAR, NIELIT, ICM and others shut down as a part of the protests, then it will bring negative outcomes especially towards the students.
The student body further appealed not to continue such forms of agitation further.
