Khawairamband women vendors on Saturday cautioned authorities concerned that all women vendors along with the people will initiate a search and investigation on their own to retrieve the bodies of the two students if authorities fail to hand over the bodies by November 5.
The women vendors highlighted that the snail-paced measures of CBI in retrieving the bodies have raised numerous red flags and made them lose faith in the investigating agency.
Speaking to the media at Khwairamband Ema Keithel, Khwairamband Keithel Lukmai Sellup general secretary Asem Nirmala stated that the lethargic measures of the authorities in retrieving the bodies had pushed the people to resort to desperate measures.
“We do not take the matter lightly. The inability to retrieve the bodies has raised serious suspicion among the people. On top of that, the state government is also standing idle without any sympathy for the people's sentiment regarding the matter,” she said.
She pointed out that the women vendors along with people would take matters into their own hands and begin the search to retrieve the bodies of the two students if authorities failed to produce the bodies by November 5.
The government will be held accountable for any incidents which result from this decision, she added.
On COTU's plea to hand over bodies in JNIMS and RIMS, she stated that the bodies could only be taken when an understanding between the two communities is reached.
“We appealed to the COTU to initiate measures in retrieving the bodies of all missing and dead from the Meitei community. If there is even one body missing the exchange deal is off,” she said.
She also lambasted central paramilitary forces for their alleged biased security measures.
They inhumanely beat the women of one community while remaining silent in another. We advise the security advisor to rein in such security actions before things get out of hand, she added.
Meanwhile, Lukmai Sellup vice president Khongbantabam Lairentombi appealed to all communities in Manipur not to celebrate any festivities amid the conflict.
“We urged the people of Meitei community to skip this year's Ningol Chakouba celebration and abstain from lighting firecrackers and other festive activities,” she added.
