IGAR asked to take action within 48 hrs | Indefinite bandh called off
The Angami Students’ Union (ASU), following an alleged assault on its president by personnel of the Assam Rifles, has given a “grace period” of 48 hrs to the IGAR North, to identify the jawan concerned and take befitting actions as per the rule of army and the law of the land. The incident occurred on 9 August around 12:30 pm “whereby the jawan(s) physically assaulted the ASU President within their camp without any reason, thereby creating public unrest,” ASU said in a press release.
“In the aftermath of the incident, the union officials rushed to the incident area and witnessed that he was physically assaulted with a blow on his face, and further intimidating him with their rifle butt,” ASU said.
“However, to the utter shock and dismay of the union, the jawans initially refused to have manhandled him,” ASU said in the press release. This led to a scuffle between the two parties resulting in tension and unrest.
Therefore, in order to avoid any casualty in the wake of the situation getting blown out of proportion, keeping in mind the safety of the general public, ASU said it called for an immediate shutter down to mitigate the movement of the general public during such chaos.
“However, we sincerely regret for any inconveniences caused on the business community in particular and the public at large during the safety measure period,” ASU said, implying calling off of the indefinite bandh it had announced earlier.
ASU said in the press release that it is giving a “grace period of 48 hrs” to the IGAR North, to identify the jawan concerned and take befitting actions as per the rule of army and the law of the land. Furthermore, it demanded an “unconditional apology must be tendered in the public domain.”
Until such time, ASU said that the Assam Rifles must “restrain from moving around the Angami inhabited areas to avoid any untoward incident.”
The ASU clarified that the “indefinite bandh implies to restricting the movement of Assam Rifles and no other activities shall be disturbed.”
The Angami Students’ Union also called upon the Government of India to immediately repeal the AFSPA 1958 from the Naga homeland, saying that this act continues to “torture and harass the common people.”
“The union vehemently condemns this inhuman act and we shall not hesitate resorting to any democratic protest/action plans if the concerned parties fail to meet to the demands of the union,” ASU cautioned.