Manipur violence: Kuki students' body warns of filing FIR against Assam Rifles over alleged staged arrest

Alleging the arrest of Lamtinsei alias Seipu Singson as staged- a managed drama to tarnish the image of the Kuki community, the Kuki Students' Organization General Headquarters threatened to file an FIR against the concerned Company Commander of the Assam Rifles.

The student body statement stated that Lamtinsei alias Seipu Singson (50), son of Letkhosei of Chiengkonpang, Churachandpur was picked by the 39 Assam Rifles stationed at Tactical Headquarter Kadamtal Company, Jiribam on October 14 for a cup of tea and later on his Bolero vehicle was seized by the AR.

It stated that before the seizure of his vehicle, the womenfolk in the area scanned the vehicle wherein only his personal diary, a Christian Bible, and water bottles were found in the vehicle.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Seipu who was summoned for a discussion over a cup of tea, was later handed over to the Police with 10 capsules of Brown sugar, alleging him of being involved in an illegal drug trade, it stated.

It further stated that the wrongful arrest of Seipu is staged - a managed drama to tarnish his image in general and the Kuki community in particular, in simple words he has been charged maliciously, and nobody should be punished for an offence he/she does not commit.

"An innocent Seipu Singson is wrongly framed by leveling charges against him for an offence that he did not commit", the student body stated.

It also stated that the disreputable act of the Assam Rifles implicating an innocent individual by leveling a charge against him for an offence he did not commit is highly condemnable.

The AR seems to have acted to propitiate the majority Meitei by wrongly implicating an innocent Kuki to salvage their bad reputation. The Company Commander of the said AR Post should stop acting at the behest of the state government and the Meitei CSOs for fulfilling their unfounded claims to brand the Kuki-Zo people as Narco-Terrorists, it stated.

The student body also stated that the Commander of the 39 AR and the Superintendent of Police of Jiribam Police should execute a strict investigation against the Commander of Kadamtal Company as to how drugs were used against the innocent individual for establishing false accusations.

It also stated that the Commander of the said Company should be booked under the relevant NDPS Act, failing which the KSO- GHQ will be compelled to file a case so the Human Rights Commission