Women street vendors sent o jail
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 05 2011: Twenty-five arrested women street vendors, who were among others trying to storm the gate of Raj Bhavan yesterday to exert pressure on the Governor for withdrawing the State Cabinet decision of shifting the street vendors from Khwairamband Bazar, have been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days by a court here today.

Protesting against the State Cabinet decision, the agitated women street vendors were marching towards the gate of Raj Bhavan to lodge a complaint with the Governor yesterday when the police arrested 27 of them.

All 27 of them were produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate of Imphal West today.

The court, however, released two of the arrested women street vendors on health condition after signing PR bonds and the remaining 25, who refused to sign PR bonds, have been subsequently ordered to be remanded in judicial custody for another 15 days.

City Police station has registered an FIR against the 27 arrested women street vendors under section 147, 149 and 188 of IPC.

Women street vendors being driven away from Court premise

Talking to mediapersons at Cheirap court complex before she was whisked away in a police van, president of Khwairamband Bazar Vendor Nupi Yaipha Lup Y Rita Leima asserted that the women street vendors were marching towards the Raj Bhavan yesterday in a democratic manner only to remind the Governor of the earlier memorandum submitted on April 27 .

But the poor women street vendors have been subjected to police action and taken into their custody, she lamented, and informed that in protest against such high-handedness of the police as well as in pursuance of the demand for reviewing the Cabinet decision, the arrested women street vendors have already undertaken hunger strike inside the lock up and the same would be continued inside the jail as well.

None of the police officers who were trying to prevent the agitating women street vendors from marching ahead to the gate of Raj Bhavan yesterday did not tell us to stay back with the assurance of forwarding the reminder to the Governor, Rita Leima complained.

Over and above this, the unruly conduct of DSP Traffic Victoria towards the aggrieved women street vendors who are like her mother is condemnable, Rita Leima said, adding that she (Victoria) could not be a true Manipuri woman and laying her hands on the poor women street vendors whose rights have been deprived by the Government without understanding sufferings they are going through is despicable.