Guwahati/Imphal
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), the apex body of tribals in Manipur, has hardened its stance and asked government employees in Churachandpur district to refrain from attending work from Monday as the Government did not meet its demand for cancelling the suspension of the head constable, Siamlalpaul, and replacing the SP and DC of the district.
“More than 24 hours have passed since the ITLF gave an ultimatum to cancel the suspension order of head constable Siamlalpaul and replace Churachandpur SP (Shivanand Surve) and DC (Dharun Kumar) but so far, no cancellation or replacement has been done. State government employees should refrain from going to office. It will be their sole responsibility if any untoward incident happens,” the ITLF warned. The ITLF has termed the head constable’s suspension as “unfair”.
At least two people were killed and around 30 others injured in firing by security forces after a mob barged into a government complex housing the SP and DC offices, torched vehicles and ransacked government property in Churachandpur, hours after the suspension of the Head Constable on February 15.
The ITLF held the SP and DC Kumar responsible for the violence and subsequent police firing that claimed two lives. They threatened to shut down all government offices in the district if the DC and SP did not comply.
“A departmental inquiry is being contemplated against Siamlalpaul of Churachandpur district police, as a clip has gone viral on social media showing him making a video with armed men on February 14,” the suspension order by the Churachandpur Superintendent of Police Shivanand Surve read.
Head Constable Siamlalpaul has been kept under suspension with immediate effect until further orders after the video of him with armed men and sitting together with village volunteers went viral on social media.
“This tantamount to very grave misconduct being a member of the disciplined police force,” a police order said.
Siamlalpaul has been asked not to “leave the station without prior permission” and “his pay and allowances have been restricted to subsistence allowance admissible as per the rules”, it said.
Taking a tough stance, Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the violence and said that an FIR has been lodged against one person for threatening to kill the SP and the damaged DC bungalow was being repaired. He suspected the motive behind the violence saying it suggested a hidden agenda. He, however, asserted that all government records were safe.
The situation in Manipur’s Churachandpur town had returned to normal on Saturday after the ITLF lifted the “total shutdown” in the southern district.
