Free students; framed criminals
- Imphal Times Editorial :: June 05 2016 -

Our thoughts go out to the 5 student volunteers of Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA), who have been detained in judicial custody by the state police for performing duty that the government machineries were supposed to do.

It’s been almost a week, but the government authority is obviously ignoring the plea of the students’ body. Now the matter is getting serious, having revealed as to why and what led the police to immediately respond to protecting the traders who sold adulterated edible salt.

Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur Gaikhangam, who is also in-charge of Home department, was once heard talking about discrepancies in enforcing the law at some point of time with issues pertaining to the sentiments of the people.

He was perhaps right because taking action against the mob is an impossible task in Manipur for it would multiply problems if the victim of the so called mob action happenned to be someone like rapists or criminals.

But while saying so the Home Minister had indirectly pointed out the inefficiency of the police department in delivering justice to the common people.

It was a fact that police failure or inaction, perhaps is the cause of mob action or say mob justice which is not at all a justice in any sense.

The arrest of 5 student volunteers who had reportedly pulled up a few non-Manipuris for selling adulterated food items amidst series of agitations to introduce inner line permit system to check influx of illegal migrants in the state is nothing but fuelling the anger of the people, particularly the students community.

Instead of arresting the non local traders for selling adulterated food items, the police had detained five students’ volunteers on charge of taking the law into their own hands.

The way things happened in this particular case and the statement of the students’ volunteers as appeared in news reports clearly showed that an influential person- a relative of Chief Minister, is setting up the play to create another chaotic situation.

From what has been found and revealed it is clear that those two grocery shops are selling adulterated salt. Selling or distribution of adulterated edible food is an offence and are liable for punishment under the law of the land.

Setting them free and revealing nothing about their criminal activities showed that the police department is in the clutch of this influential person and are being prevented from doing the right thing.

When the law protectors becomes our brutalizers, it is natural that the one who want to see the state alive will definitely take the law into their own hand.

“Students are meant to concentrate on their studies” – this is what many critics said and wrote. But when the academic atmosphere has been polluted and disturbed how could they concentrate to what they had been assigned.

As for us at Imphal Times we do not encourage students or any other persons including relatives of Chief Minister to take the law into their own hands.

We do not say police are doing wrong by rescuing the traders who were pulled up by the student volunteers, if that was the case.

But we do stand with our belief that dancing to the tune of someone in power, or is related as the case may be is a criminal act.

The police should consider the plea of the students and set the 5 volunteers free while conducting drives against criminal activities like adulteration of food items by joining hands with the Food Safety Authority before some other civil organisation or i8ndividual take the law in their hands to save the future generation.