Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) chairperson (justice) UB Saha accompanied by its member KK Singh, Haobam Rosita, secretary and law officer W Basantakumar visited students who sustained injuries due to excessive use of force used upon them while taking out protests, demanding justice of two students whose photos taken after execution surfaced on social media.
On Tuesday, the MHRC while taking up the case regarding alleged assault against the students by Manipur police, Rapid Action Force and Jat Regiment, observed that the MHRC may physically see the injured persons, if any of them is presently in any hospital in Imphal.
The MHRC team first met Wahengbam Jotin, 14, of Arapti Mayai Leikai who is undergoing treatment at Raj Medicity.
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Jotin’s family alleged that Jotin got hit in his abdomen due to firing by police personnel from Singjamei police station. Mother of Jotin who was present in the hospital informed that she has received an assistance of Rs 50,000 from Manipur government.
The MHRC team also visited Shija Hospital where Loitangbam Kishan, 17, of Angtha and Mayanglambam Johnson, 24, of Top Khongnangkhong who sustained injuries on September 27 due to excessive use of force by security forces in and around imphal.
Kishan alleged that RAF personnel fired pellet guns from a close range. On enquiry, a doctor who does not want to name said that “seeing the nature of injuries inflicted on his body, the firing could have been done from a point-blank range.”
The doctor also informed that 60 projectiles were removed from the body of Kishan and some projectiles are still in the body.
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The MHRC team also visited Sougrakpam Iriraz at RIMS. Iriraz also sustained injury to his right leg during the protest. In the petition filed to the MHRC, one of the complainants alleged that Iriraz was in school uniform.
He was among 30 students who marched towards the chief minister’s secretariat. He was hit by stun grenade/tear gas. In the petition, it was also alleged that on that day around 2 pm, around 30 students of Johnstone Higher Secondary School, Imphal in their school uniforms were marching towards Raj Bhavan and Chief Minister’s Secretariat from their school campus.
Even before they could reach Raj Bhavan, they were prevented by Manipur police personnel at a place near Kanglapat, a little distance away from the foot over bridge. The Manipur police personnel made them sit there and accordingly, the students were sitting near Kanglapat footpath opposite to M-Sector.
In utter surprise, Manipur police personnel threw stun grenades/tear gas towards the students without giving any warning to disperse themselves. In the incident, more than 10 students’ sustained injuries and many of them were taken to Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
