IT News
Imphal, Feb 19:
The 3.5 Collective, a conglomerate of various civil bodies has decry the court of 71 Meira Paibi (Torch bearer) elderly ladies yesterday while demonstrating a peaceful march towards state Assembly Secretariat demanding discussion of the drug menace in Manipur in the ongoing Budget Session. The women reportedly came from various direction.
3.5 Collective, in a statement showed solidarity with the Meira Paibi and expressed concern about the safety of the ladies arrested.
A statement of the 3.5 collective said that hundreds of peaceful sit-in-protest have been organised throughout the length and breadth of Manipur by the grass-root Meira Paibi groups. Some of them have even faced police brutality for daring to demand justice and their cases have been registered in the Manipur Human Rights Commission’. A conglomeration of well respected 11 Meira Paibi groups have been lobbying with almost all the key Ministers, MLAs, MPs, leaders of various political parties for more than a month. Their demand includes:
1. The Government of Manipur should move an appeal against the judgment of Special Court (ND&PS), Manipur Special trial case no 100 of 2018 dated 17 December 2020 to the High Court. In this judgement Mr. Luhoisei Zou, former chairman of ADC Chandel who was caught red-handed with 270 million rupees worth of narcotic drugs from his official residence at Lamphel, Imphal was summarily acquitted.
2. The Government of Manipur should not remain silent on the judgment of the Special Judge (ND&PS) Thoubal in Special Trial Case no. 12 of 2020 dated 20 January 2021, acquitting all the accused. In this case narcotic drugs worth 4 billion rupees were seized at Phoudel, Thoubal District in 2019 involving, amongst others, a Myanmar national.
3. The issue of drug menace in Manipur should be thoroughly deliberated in the ongoing budget session of the Manipur State Assembly.
4. Manipur should be saved from the looming catastrophe of the drug menace.
But despite the verbal assurances of the MLAs belonging to both in the ruling as well as opposition parties during their one-to-one meeting, none of them have raised the issue of drugs so far in the ongoing assembly session. With only two days left for the session to conclude, the Meira Paibi are visibly angry by the indolence of the elected representatives of the people to address the crucial issue of the people in the floor of the Assembly.
The 3.5 Collective, in solidarity with the Meira Paibi, strongly demand that all the MLAs should do whatever is necessary to ensure that Manipur is saved from the clutches of the invisible, yet highly powerful drug cartel; and prevent it from becoming the next Golden Triangle. At the minimum, the Government of Manipur should be persuaded to go for an appeal to the High Court against the judgment dated 17 December 2020 in Special trial case no. 100 of 2018.
