IMPHAL, July 26: The 28 women, arrested by the City police yesterday for agitating over the Inner Line Permit issue have been sent to 15 days judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West RK Memcha, today.
The women who were produced before the CJM’s court this afternoon, have been charged u/s 147, 149, 188, 353 IPC and for breaking the Section 144 CrPC by taking out a rally yesterday, assistant public prosecution Leimapokpam Rajen told the media today.
As soon as they came out of the courtroom, the women started sloganeering “ILP must be implemented,” “Agitations will continue until the ILP is implemented.”
The woman also demanded that they be set free, unconditionally.
It may be mentioned that the women were arrested by the City Police for participating in a rally taken out by women vendors of the Khwairamband Ima Keithel under the aegis of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System, Women Wing.
Meanwhile, supporting the demand for the safe release of the 28, the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System, Women Wing convened a press meet this late evening at the Manipur Press Club and condemned the arrests.
Unless the government releases the 28 unconditionally, the organisation will continue to agitate, said spokesperson Memcha.
She continued that the ongoing Assembly session should discuss the ILP issue.
She further condemned the police action against the students and other agitators demanding implementation of the ILP.
The demand is legitimate and has already been reaffirmed by the State Assembly on previous occasions, she said.
Memcha also said that the demand is not only for the agitators but for the welfare of the entire State, and the government should meet it.
On the other hand, Manipuri Students Federation (MSF), president, Kh Serajuddin has said that the student body supports the ongoing agitation of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS).
The president continued that the movement of the various student organisations are truly democratic, but met with brutal assaults from the Manipur security forces.
The use of brute force against the students is condemnable, he said.
The student bodies including the MSF will not remain mute spectators against the government action of ordering the educational institutes to remain close until the Assembly session gets over, challenging the Right to Education Act, just to suppress the voice of the people, he said.
Just ordering the institutes to remain close cannot curb the ongoing movement, in fact it will only fuel the already burning demand for ILP.
He called upon the State and the security forces to support the demand for implementation of the ILP.
