Kangpokpi,May 2: Irritated by the action of the Senapati District Police, womenfolk of Keithelmanbi and Saparmeina completely blocked the vehicular movement along NH-2 today from 2:30 pm onwards.
According to the police source, Imphal West District Police on learning from a specific information that a stone crusher association along Sadar Hills was going to hand over demand money, Senapati District Police in civil dress were on alert at Saparmeina.
Imphal West Police followed the persons supposed to hand over the said demand money upto Sekmai which is under their jurisdiction from Khuyathong. When the person crossed Sekmai, they informed the Senapati District Police to deal with the case. Immediately, Senapati District Police in plain cloth kept an eye on the movement of some suspected persons at Saparmeina Bazaar.
Exactly at around 1:50 pm, the plain cloth police saw a person handing some suspected materials to one person and immediately the plain cloth Senapati district arrested the person and handed him over to Saparmeina Police on the spot.The arrested person on a 407 vehicle of the police station.
The police identified the arrested person identified as Seikholen, who is reportedly a cadre of KNF-P, a SoO signatory under the UPF.
After the Sapormeina incident, the Senapati police team were heading towards Kangpokpi and on reaching Keithelmanbi at around 2:20 pm, they came across some youths near the NH-2, said the police source.
The police suspected them to be extorting money from the vehicle so they stopped their vehicle and frisked them. While frisking, 3 of them started to run away leading the police to blank fire 2/3 rounds of bullets thereby causing panic among school going children and the general public, the police source said.
Immediately after the incident, the Kuki Students` Organization, Sadar Hills and the Kuki Inpi, Sadar Hills blocked the highway against the police action of firing for causing panic to the public thereby causing interruption of vehicular movement.
The agitators demanded apology from the Addl.SP and an assurance from the same officer not to repeat such unwanted incidents in future.
The Addl.SP while clarifying over the incident said that the said persons were extorting money from vehicles plying along the route.”They are giving a very bad name to Keithelmanbi, we are doing all these for the goodness of the villagers,” he added.
The Addl.SP in the presence of Kuki Inpi Manipur, Sadar Hills Women Union, KSO-SH, Keithelmanbi Village Authority tendered apologies to the general public of Keithelmanbi and assured them that such an incident would not happen again in the future.
After an amicable solution was brought about, the irritated womenfolks suspended the blockade.
The Addl.SP personally went to Saparmeina and clarified over the incident but the womenfolks disagreed with the clarification and asked the Addl.SP that Valley based CDO`s involvement in the case be arrested.
The Addl.SP flatly denied any involvement of CDO`s in the matter and also clarified that Senapati District police will never allow for CDOs to be involved in the district police activities.
Meanwhile, IFCD Minister Ngamthang Haokip and local MLA Nemcha Kipgen held meetings with the public at the Saparmeina at the residence of the Minister which was participated by Kuki Inpi Manipur, Sadar Hills Women Union, KSO-SH, Keithelmanbi Village Authority, Kangpokpi Women Welfare Organization and Kangpokpi Youth Union.
The Minister and the MLA also appealed to the people to lift the blockade.The organizations resolved to lift the blockade with the demands that the authorities concerned should take up action against the officer who had fired at the earliest following which the blockade will be reimposed.