Truck set ablaze by protesters demanding ILP in Manipur

The truck carrying 34 non-Manipuri labourers from Sekmai areawas stopped by agitators at Koirengei area who demanded relevant documents

A truck was today set ablaze by protesters demanding immediate implementation of the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) for restriction of entry of outsiders in Manipur, police said.

The truck carrying 34 non-Manipuri labourers from Sekmai area, about 15 km north of here, was stopped by agitators at Koirengei area who demanded relevant documents, police said.

When the labourers failed to produce the documents, the agitators set afire the truck and took them to a nearby isolated place, they said.

They also assaulted a local contractor identified as Ngairangbam Hemkanta who was bringing the labourers for construction work regarding a local project, police said, adding, the labourers were later 'rescued'.

Various organisations including students' organisations and women's social associations under the guidance of Joint Action Committee on the Implementation of Inner Line Permit System (JACIILPS) have launched different forms of democratic agitation to press for implementation of the system in Manipur for over a month now.

A spokesman of the JACIILPS said they would continue their agitation till the demand was met. He said, "we are not against any fellow compatriot but there must be some rules to protect the indigenous people of our state."

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh had earlier said that he would convene an all political party meeting soon to discuss the issue.

The ILP system is in force in neighbouring Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, police said.