IMPHAL, September 3: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) has strongly condemned the reported bomb blast near the AR post located at Old Samtal (Samat) Village in Chandel District in the early morning of August 26 that was claimed by an armed non-state organisation and the cruel and inhuman ill-treatment and torture by the 3rd AR towards the inhabitants of the village after the bomb-attack.
According to a press release of CORE, villagers including children and child bearing women were ill-treated and forced to parade throughout the whole day in the rain without food.
Three persons were also brutally assaulted inside a house and many children were found to be huddled up in a small hut in fear as was reported in the local media, it said.
The following day, on August 27, two villagers, Lhunkhojam, 57 and Jamkholin, 36 along with their families were expelled from the village by order of the post-commander major Sooter charging them of being behind the bomb attack.
However, due to forced banishment, the family of Lumkhojam had to abandon his aged father who could no longer walk due to old age, it said.
Despite being a State party to the Geneva Conventions which stated that no harm must come to the civilians, India is encouraging brutal localised autocracies in its border areas in the name of counter-insurgency operations and management of security threats to the State, it said.
The organisation strongly condemns the inhuman torture and ill-treatment of the villagers by the 3rd Assam Rifles and also urged the government to take full responsibility of the situation and to ensure immediate welfare and rehabilitation of the villagers and ensure their immediate return to their homes from where they were forcefully evicted by the AR.
It has appealed to the government to halt the continuing threats and terrorisation of the villagers by the AR and restore peace in the village, it said.
