IMPHAL, May 19: The protest over the alleged murder of Loitam Richard on Saturday peaked up with students storming the offices of political parties including that of Congress and BJP located in the city, resulting in the detention of 17 students by the state police.
Also today, leaders of six student organizations staged sit-in protests and burned effigies of political leaders since 1 pm demanding to hand over the case to CBI and the student leaders also pitched up their voice on the series of demands with regard to the alleged murder.
Earlier in the day, the student leaders numbering about 50 congregated at the head office of DESAM at Keishampat junction and later they stormed the office of Manipur State BJP located at Nityaipat. They gheraoed the office and smashed the window panes before they closed the main gate of the office.
However, the agitating student leaders first had talks with some members of BJP which led to a skirmish. Then, they headed towards Governor Road in Paona Bazaar and arrived at the Congress Bhavan, but security forces manning the Bhavan lathicharged them and attempted to drive them out of the compound.
The security forces knowing the intention of the students locked the interior gate of the Bhavan leaving them to retreat through the main gate. Irked by the act of the security forces, they moved the barbed wire barricades put at the median of BT Road and put them in front of the main gate of Congress Bhavan.
The student leaders also stormed the MPP office near Pologround and locked it. From there, they turned up to Irabot Bhavan and tried to shut the office of Manipur State CPI, but a large number of personnel from Imphal West district police arrived at the scene and picked up 17 student leaders.
However, they were later freed around 7:30 pm after detaining them for several hours in the custody of the district police headquarters.
The 17 students detained by the police are Thokchom Suresh, president, AMSU; Yumnam Pradipkumar, president, KSA; Premkumar Laishram, secretary general, AMSU Imphal West District; Maibam Bidyaraj, organization secretary, MSF; M Herojit, volunteer, DESAM; A Jankinath Sharma, publicity secretary, SWAK; M Anilkumar Meitei, volunteer, KSA; Taorem Arunkumar, executive member, MSF Imphal West District; M Gobin Singh, a student of Manipur College; W Dilip Singh, volunteer, MSF; Th Richard, finance secretary, SUK; P Rajkiran and Irom Arunkumar, both volunteers of KSA; Manibabu Ningthoujam, volunteer, AMSU; Salam Ningthem, deputy secretary, DESAM Imphal West District; H Amarkanta, secretary general, DESAM Imphal West District and Rishikumar, president DESAM.