By Alex Guite
LAMKA, April 17: In a show of rare unity, several student organisations came together to stage a peace rally against the recent spate of bomb blasts in the district. The latest incident of bomb blast occurred near a duty post of the BSF located at Lighthouse Lane along the busy Tidim Road.
Students took out the rally from Hiangtam Lamka Public ground and continued till the Deputy Commissioner Office complex at Tuibuang passing along IB Road and Tiddim Road.
The rally was initiated by the Zomi Students`™ Federation GHQ, Kuki Students`™ organisation, CCpur, Hmar Students Association and the Mizo Zilai Pawl. A memorandum was later submitted to the deputy commissioner Lunminthang Haokip demanding action on the bomb blast which had hindered the peaceful environment in the town.
The explosions, the students said in the memorandum, were anything but a ploy to victimise the innocent civilians and were highly uncalled for and deplorable.
The students have also urged the district administration and the law enforcers to come out and take up the necessary measures to prevent such violence in the future. They have also appealed to all concerned against disturbing the peace and tranquillity in the area by the use of destructive devices in public places killing and injuring innocent bystanders.
The student bodies will also see to it that such actions are not repeated and no resource will be spared to thwart reoccurrence of such incidents in the future, the memorandum said.
Several voices were also heard condemning the recent incidents of crimes against women occurring in the district especially the alleged rape of young girls of a certain children`™s home by its administrator. Many also opined that the student bodies and other civil organisations should show similar concern against such crimes as they had shown regarding bomb blasts.
A local Zuii (name changed) said she was ever ready to join any protest against such crimes as rape which, she said is the real sign of a decaying society.
It is a shame that the society is not showing the desired concern to protect its girls, she lamented.
A mother of one of the girls alleged raped by the children home`™s administrator said her daughter`™s name was published in a local paper. She said the report was based on a press release issued by the authority of the student home.
This is a crime under section 21 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2000 which prohibits and bans naming and disclosing a juvenile`™s name in such cases, she said questioning the daily and its editor for publishing her daughter`™s name.