Manipur PHED Minister L Susindro alias Yaima on Saturday clarified the Friday incident wherein his godown at Chingarel Tezpur was reportedly burntd own by a mob after he rescued two women who were ‘wrongly accused’ of being informers.
Addressing the press at his residence in Khurai on Saturday, the minister said that he went to the Lamlai A/C on Friday along with Lamlai AC MLA Ibomcha upon learning that there was a clash between a mob and security forces.
Then, while returning from the area, he learnt that a mob had captured and assaulted two individuals suspected of being informers from a specific community, Minister Susindro said.
“The mob had detained them based on the suspicions that they exchanged messages with members of other communities. However, upon my request, the local club members handed over the mobile phones, and the messages were examined and verified by the additional SP and a representative of COCOMI,” the minister said.
Saving innocent people is the duty of a representative, the minister added.
However, while returning from Sabungkhok area to his residence, a mob at Khurai Konsam Leikai blocked him because rumours had spread that he rescued the two women and were in his vehicles, the minister continued. However, the issue of two ‘wrongly accused’ women were already solved at Sabungkhok and they were already taken by police to a hospital for treatment, the minister added.
And due to the irate mob blocking the way, a blank fire was made by police, the minister said, adding that it seems like some political parties are taking political malice, targeting a particular area. This is not the time for politicisation, the minister said.
The mob attempted an attack on the minister’s house later in the night but were not able to. Then, the mob vandalised and burnt down a godown at Chingarel Tezpur, a private property of the minister that was registered under his sister.
The mob set two mini trucks on fire which were parked at the godown complex in Ishirou, Imphal including PHED’s sewerage pipe, worth about Rs 120 crore (government property), the minister informed.
It is worth mentioning here that the two women narrowly escaped a violent mob attack in the Sabungkhok area of Imphal East district on Friday. They were reportedly detained and subjected to assault based on suspicions that they were informers for a particular community accused of targeting residents in the foothills of Sabungkhok and Yaingangpokpi.
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