Imphal: In a display of outrage, several students and teachers from Moirang Multipurpose Higher Secondary School in Bishnupur district, Manipur, staged a sit-in protest on Friday in response to the tragic killing of 19-year-old Mayengbam Rickey Meitei.
The festoon hung at the school’s gate read, “We strongly condemn the killing of Mayengbam Ricky Meetei. We want peace, not war. Restore normalcy. Resume normal classes.”
Meitei, a Class XII student at MM Higher Secondary School in Moirang, was fatally shot by unidentified individuals while riding a two-wheeler on his way back to a relief camp where his mother currently seeks shelter.
The incident occurred on Friday morning, and Meitei succumbed to five bullet wounds on the spot.
Teachers, non-teaching staff, and students of the school initiated the sit-in protest at the school gate, demanding swift justice.
As a mark of respect for the departed soul, a two-minute silence was observed. Lingthoingamabi, a female student, expressed the students’ plea for justice and an early resolution to the ongoing communal clashes that have plagued the state for the past two months.
Simultaneously, women from Moirang and Kwakta villages also launched protests in response to Meitei’s killing, blocking the road connecting Moirang to the Churachandur district.
During the blockade, Assam Rifles personnel, arriving in vehicles, resorted to using batons, resulting in injuries to five women.
The protesters also denounced the occupation of the Indian National Army School by the Assam Rifles in Kwakta.
In light of the situation, local MLA Shanti appealed to Chief Minister N Biren Singh, urging him to facilitate the vacation of the school premises occupied by the Assam Rifles in the absence of proper documents.