IMPHAL, April 30: According to an emailed statement from the Manipur Information Centre, Lok Sabha MP from the state Dr Thokchom Meinya drew the attention of the Parliament during the Zero Hour today.
He said during the session that there was a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar, New Delhi and in other metropolitan cities of the country including Bengaluru, Hyderabad on April 29 regarding crimes and apparently institutionalized discrimination against the North Eastern people.
The MPs speech today at the Parliament was preceeded by a nation-wide chain of demonstration across the countries on April 29 as was reported.
Drawing the attention of the Speaker he had stated, “Madam, to draw your kind attention, it is indeed very shocking for the people of Manipur, that one architect student, Loitam Richard was found dead in his hostel room on April 17”.
He continued, “Following that, there was a lot of confusion about how he died. Post-mortem report says that there were injuries all over his body and that there was bleeding on the face. But some others say that some days earlier to that, there was a motor accident”.
He continued, “So, controversial opinions are coming out. In the meanwhile, his parents have gone there to take the body. His injuries were so grievous which clearly showed that something serious had happened. His parents have written a letter to the Home Minister, the Government of India, with a copy marked to me” he further informed the House, the statement said.
“I have already forwarded the letter to the Home Ministry to look into the request of the parents to institute an inquiry at the level of the CBI so that we may go to the root of the problem and find a permanent solution”.
“This is not the only incident. Recently, D. Sangma, niece of the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, who was studying in Amity University, was found hanging from the fan of her hostel room. It was alleged that she was humiliated by the invigilator in an examination for using a mobile phone” he continued.
“Even day before yesterday, on the night of April 27, a Manipuri boy was beaten up in Delhi. A Naga boy, Joshua Muivah from Ukhrul district of Manipur was also attacked by some unknown persons”.
“A series of such incidents are happening one after another. This has instilled a sense of alienation among the people of North-East region in their own country”.
“We, as people belonging to this region, take note of these incidents and raise our voice in unison. The murder of Richard is very gruesome, we all condemn it” he continued.
“We should also pay attention to the other incidents of apparently institutionalized discrimination and crimes against the North-Eastern people. I would request the Government of India, particularly the Minister of Home Affairs, to do something so that such incidents do not occur in future” the MP said, according to the release.
