Shutdown in Manipur over alleged rights violations by security forces

Imphal, Sept 19 (ANI): A civil organisation called for a 60-hour shutdown in Manipur starting from today against human rights violations committed allegedly by security forces.

The call was given by the Apunba Lup, an umbrella organization of local groups, spearheading the ongoing agitation against the security forces.

Business establishments, banks, schools and petrol pumps remained closed on Saturday. oads were deserted with only a few private two and four wheelers and that of security forces plying. All commercial vehicles have stopped plying on roads.

In a statement, the Apunba Lup reiterated its call to carry on the movement until the people's demands are met.

On September 14, police had launched a crackdown, detaining eight members of the civil organisation spearheading the protests.

Manipur has been on the boil since the killing of a pregnant woman and a suspected militant in a shootout on July 23 near the building of the state legislature in Imphal. Five others were injured in the shootout.

Several protests and shutdowns have since rocked Imphal, disrupting normal life. tate police earlier arrested several members of the Working Committee of the Apunba Lup and were being detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

A shootout with security forces on September 7 in which five cadres of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) were killed also sparked protests in the state.

The protestors alleged that the troops violated the ceasefire and called the killings as cold-blooded murders.

Protestors in the state are demanding stringent action against the police commandos allegedly involved in the shootout, which they have branded as a 'fake encounter'. (ANI)