Imphal: Hundreds of non-natives residing in Manipur on Saturday staged a sit-in-protest for more than 3 hours amid heavy security at Telipati against the gruesome murder of one of their community members in the Imphal East district.
More than 300 non-Manipuri people, including women and children, showed up to protest the killing of Sailendra Shah demanding the arrest of the culprits at the earliest. The deceased’s wife Pinky Devi and three daughters were also at the dharna holding placards and banners denouncing the killing and demanding justice.
On Friday, some unidentified armed persons allegedly shot dead Sailendra Shah, 36, when he was returning after supplying grocery goods in Uchol Chinjin under the Andro Police Station on the outskirts of Imphal.
Shah sustained a gunshot wound on his head and died on the spot. He is survived by his wife and three daughters and presently staying in a rented house at Ragailong (Pandon) in Imphal. Shah belonged to Ekrasi village in Bihar’s Buxar district, but had been staying in Manipur over the last 14 years, said his elder brother.
A police officer in charge of the case told EastMojo: “The police were informed by the passerby who came across the body at 4.05 pm on Friday, and we immediately rushed to the spot. An FIR bearing No. 26(07)2022 APS U/S 302/34 & IPC 25 (I-C)A Act is registered in Andro PS which falls under the Imphal East district and the post-mortem examination was done on Saturday. Hectic efforts are on to identify and arrest the culprits.”
The place where Shah lived in a rented house with his family now was packed with people from his home state Bihar. According to the landlord Gangmumei Rongmei, Shailendra Shah earned his livelihood by supplying grocery goods to small shops on his two-wheeler every day, like his two other brothers who also lived in the same locality. “He left home at around 7 am as usual for his work, I was informed at around 4:30 pm, and that’s when we rushed to the spot and found him lying dead on the road with heavy security in the vicinity,” Rongmei said.
The locality is home to over a hundred non-local families who engage in construction works, carpentry and hawkers like Shailendra Shah.
His elder brother, Suresh Shah, who has lived in Manipur for about four decades, said his brother last visited Bihar in November. He said they all have valid Inner Line Permit to pursue their livelihood here. He ruled out any monetary demand angle, saying, “Shalender was found with Rs 80,310 cash in his pockets and his gold necklace intact along with his mobile, which indicates that this was not a case of monetary demand”.
The victim’s brother Tejlal Shah said they do not know the reason behind the murder of Shailendra and demanded prompt clarification from whoever was involved in the killing. He urged the Manipur Government to extend all possible help to the bereaved family members of his brother. He asserted that they are here to earn a livelihood and support their families and appealed for the safety of their lives. “Let’s stop intimidating innocent people,” he appealed.
On Saturday, Joykisan met and extended his condolences to the families of Sailendra and extended financial aid to the deceased man’s family. Speaking at the victim’s residence, Thangmeiband AC MLA Kh Joykisan strongly condemned the unfortunate killing and called for revamping security cover for the minorities in the State. He stressed the need for the state government to investigate who is behind the constant killings of minority non-locals in the state over the past month.
While pointing out that many Manipuris are residing in other parts of the country, Joykisan urged the state government to investigate who is responsible for the killings of non-locals over the past month.
Local MLA Arun Kumar and State BJP General Secretary, Premananda Singh also visited the family on Saturday. Singh told EastMojo that the BJP party strongly condemned the killing and assured to extend all possible help to the deceased’s wife.
People at the residence who do not wish to be quoted shared that they fear for their lives too, despite having valid papers, including ILP. Several abandoned their work for the day to gather in solidarity with the deceased family.
Among them was Ashok Prasad Sahu, who stayed till late at night after the news broke on Friday. While accepting that the BJP Government makes them feel more secure, this incident sparked fresh insecurity. “Why is the State Government in a silent mode? We all have valid government ILP. Shailendra was also carrying a valid ILP,” he remarked.
A Joint Action Committee (JAC) has been formed to demand justice from the state government, with Sitaram Sahu as the president and Raj Prasad as the secretary. “The Chief Minister has confirmed to meet us on Monday. We wish to share our concerns and demands with him,” informed the JAC Secy.
The post-mortem was done on Saturday at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Science (JNIMS) Imphal. However, the family refused to perform the last rites demanding justice so the body remains at the JNIMS morgue.
Speaking with EastMojo, Sitaram Sahu, who is the general secretary of Vaish Youth Club (VYC), Telipati, said the VYC was formed in 1972 to oversee the welfare of the Bihari residents in Telipati. There are over 250 families permanently residing in the area.
“This is not the first incident. Over the last few months, attacks on the community have been rising. So far, no individual or groups have claimed responsibility for the incidents,” said Sahu, who has been staying in Manipur since his great grandparents’ time.
Until the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice, the JAC has resolved not to claim the deceased body, which is currently lying at the JNIMS morgue, said Sahu.
According to him, CM Biren Singh assured the community of every possible protection from the state’s law enforcement when they met him just before the recently-concluded elections.
However, not a single culprit has been caught or booked for the multiple incidents so far by the state government, said Sahu.
Last month, unknown armed men gunned down a 40-year-old man from Bihar running a variety store in Churachandpur district. Similarly, armed men killed one migrant labourer and injured another in Kakching district.
Sahu further informed that in May, some miscreants also planted a suspected IED near a temple’s gate in Telipati which later exploded, injuring one person.
“We don’t know the intentions of the attackers. Most of us have been staying here since time immemorial which legitimately makes us permanent residents of Manipur. If they really want us to leave the state, we will do so by receiving befitting compensation for our houses and other properties from the state government,” added Sahu.
Several Bihari families have lived in Manipur for a very long time. Most are engaged in business and other similar trades.
While expressing his concern over the incident, a 26-year-old Vikram (name changed) termed the Friday killing as ‘gruesome’.
“I was born and brought up in Manipur. But we cannot retaliate since we are here as a minority community,” said Vikram, who now helps his father to run a shop in Imphal.
“We want them to stop all the target killings, and the state government should take an utmost initiative to trace down all the culprits and those persons behind the killings,” added Ajay (name changed), whose family has been in Manipur for decades.
While the killing was reported in a few local dailies, there were no tweets or condemnation issued on CM Biren Singh’s social media handles till the time of filing this report. The state government, while declaring July 9 as a mourning day as a mark of respect to former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, remained largely silent on the daylight murder of a non-Manipuri in the state.
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