By : M Kaimuanthang/IFP 3/27/2008 2:24:43 AM
Lamka, Mar 26: In a bizarre incident a minor girl of 6 years was sodomised Tuesday at a place located about 3 kms away from the district police station between Tangnuam to Gangpimual village by a male adult.
According to sources, the minor girl was on her way home at Tangnuam from shool after writing her days examination at the Children’s Brighter School where she studies in class 'B' at about 12.15 pm.
Between Tangnuam to Gangpimual village she was stopped at a cemetery area and was forcibly taken to a secluded spot, said the sources.
She said that after some time the man who wore a half pant told her to lie down and then sodomised her. She said she was warned by the man not to shout otherwise she would be stabbed to death.
The girl after returning home played with friends in the neighbourhood as there was no one at home at that time.
Later, when her mother returned she told her to pick her from school punctually. She also complained of pain in her anus. Ultimately, when her mother enquired she came to know of the injury and took the girl to hospital.
After proper check up at the hospital some injuries were found at her anus which revealed that she was sodomised. The father of the victim is a rickshaw puller.
Regarding the incident, the village authorities of Tangnuam issued a condemnation of the incident and urged all NGOs to take steps to ensure that no such crimes are perpetrated on the minors at least.
Condemning the incident, the Children’s Brighter School students today took to the streets and took out a rally from the school upto Tiddim road and the BSF road junction.
Meanwhile, the Zomi Studnets Federation, ZSF, in a statement condemned the incident of sodomy of a class-B student of Children’s Brighter Academy on Tuesday last in the strongest possible words.
It said it would extend full support to any form of agitation to be launched in protest while demanding the government ensure the culprits are arrested and given punishment as per the law of the land.
Urging the government to take steps for payment of suitable compensation to the victims, it demanded that such incidents should not occur in the future.
Meanwhile, in another incident the DC’s official residence was pelted with stones by some miscreants on the same night.
=======
Rape cases reduce but other crimes against women on the rise
By : Thingbaijam Dhamen/IFP 3/27/2008 2:22:49 AM
IMPHAL, Mar 26: Even though cases of rape of women in Manipur sharply declined during the year 2007 with only 20 incidents taking place, other crimes against women like molestation, cruelty by husband and relatives and kidnapping and abduction are on the rise.
The annual crime graph of the Manipur police for the year 2007-08 reveals only 20 cases related with rape of women registered in police stations across the state, against 40 cases in the previous year.
The cases of molestation of women which was 33 in 2006 increased to 70 while cruelty by husband and relatives also increased from 11 to 15. A case of eve teasing was also registered by the police during 2007 even though no case was registered during 2006 and 2005.
A sharp increase of kidnapping and abduction of women was recorded as a total of 83 cases were registered during the year 2007 against 49 in the previous year.
No cases related with dowry death and trafficking of girls was registered during the period under report.
The overall cases which the state police registered during the year 2007 under Indian Penal Code, IPC was recorded at 3259 which indicates an increase of 373 from the year 2006.
During the year under report 240 murder cases, 377 attempts to murder and two culpable homicides not amounting to murder were registered. The cases were respectively 205, 265 and four in the previous year 2006.
A total of 67 cases of kidnapping for different reasons were registered during the year under report which indicates a reduction of 13 from the previous year 2006 when it was 80.
Three cases of dacoity, 161 cases of preparation and assembly for dacoity, 12 cases of robbery, 69 cases of burglary, 152 auto thefts and 302 other thefts were registered in the year which has passed.
Cases registered against extortion are on the rise as a total of 245 cases were registered during the year under report even though it was 204 in the previous year 2006.
Cases of motor accidents also rose slightly as 536 cases were registered during the year 2007 against 521 during the year 2006.
The cases registered against rioting, criminal breach of trust, cheating, counterfeiting, arson, assault during the year under report were respectively 73, 19, 93, 4, 64 and 383 respectively against 60, 40, 82, 9, 117 and 296 during the year 2006.
A sharp reduction in the cases of offence against the state were found in the annual crime report of the police as against 122 cases registered in 2006 it was only 63 during the year 2007.
Other cases registered under the IPC which were 338 in 2006 also reduced to 204 in the year 2007.
The total number of cases registered under the minor/other local and special laws enforced in the state during the year 2007 was 754 showing an increase of 271 from the previous year 2006. The total cases registered under the same category during 2006 was 483.
Out of the total of 754 cases 679 were registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A total of 403 cases were registered under the same Act during the year 2006.
Of the remaining cases five were registered under Arms Act, 35 NDPS Act, one each under Immoral Traffic (P) Act and Essential Commodities Act, five under Gambling Act and six under Registration of Foreigners Act, 1930 while the remaining seven were registered under other acts of the state.
==========
Editorial of The Imphal Free Press
Migration and Demography
3/27/2008 2:33:26 AM
In the days before the long Yaoshang holidays, the local media did see some interesting debates of the issue of economic migrants and demography. Rich as each of them was in contributing to this important discourse, in many of the arguments there had seemed to be a confusing of categories between the two central issues. The strain of xenophobia consequent upon the demography shift issue and the matter of humanitarian treatment of economic migrants. The first maybe is not altogether a phobia – an obsessive and unreasonable fear, after all after all, in a democracy, numbers decide who get to be in power. The second treats the matter as merely a question of economic migration of hapless population at the cost of ignoring the consequences of a radical altering of the demographic profile because of these migrations. Both the arguments are incompleteness and lack a holistic visualisation of the tragedy unfolding. For indeed, what we are witnessing is not one tragedy, but two working simultaneously on a single frame of space and time, which, as we see it, have no other way than to be treated together as intimately related issues, if justice and not just political correctness is the ultimate goal. Hence, if the plight of economic migrants, forced to migrate by discrimination and poverty at home is a human issue, the concerns and anxieties amongst small communities who would be their hosts, of demographic upsets which would ultimately put them at a disadvantage in the democratic power equation must be treated as equally weighty. This dilemma was clearly visible even as the unpardonable and macabre massacres of migrant labourers on March 17 and 18 unfolded. There were militants butchering the migrants probably in their belief that they were addressing the concerns of the local communities, but these same locals they thought they were patronising, were rescuing the victims of their pogrom.
As to why the economic migrants must deserve a humane treatment needs no further elaboration. It is however the “xenophobia” (within quotes because it has been argued that it is not a phobia but a real concern) caused by their continuous influx which needs a little more explanation, for beneath what seems an unreasonable emotion, there are reasons that needs more attention. For one thing, migrant labourers always manage to drag down wages. Because of their poverty and desperations, they are always willing to work for less. If today it is internal migrants who have brought down wages, tomorrow it will be migrants from Bangladesh who will drag it down further, causing another layer of tensions between the earlier economic migrants and the latter who are even more desperate. The potential for social tension caused by economic migration is self evident and indeed Assam has seen this phenomenon played out before its very own eyes. Some have argued that there are no local labour forces and cite how even rickshaw drivers cover their faces because of their lack of respect of manual labour. This is basically a Meitei centric analysis and one which totally ignores the existence of other communities which have been providing these services, like the Pangals, although it must be acknowledged that the available services are inadequate of the needs. All the same, this labour friction is a universal phenomenon, and happens even in the most sophisticated economies. One of Senator Barak Obama’s trump cards in his campaign for the Democratic Party’s ticket for American Presidential election has been his promise to restrict outsourcing of jobs to countries where skilled labour is cheap so as to leave American jobs for Americans. And we all know how successful he has been thus far. The other point about population movement and “xenophobia” is, it is a one way affair. When members of small communities move to settle amidst a much larger communities, the question of demographic upsets seldom arises. But when members of much bigger communities move to settle alongside smaller communities, the concerns provoked should come across as obvious. Just as small hill tribes fear unregulated settling of the more populous Meiteis among them, there is legitimacy in small communities of the northeast fearing large scale influxes from not just Bangladesh, but also from the larger states. We had suggested official regulatory mechanisms, but this should not be taken as a suggestion for total ban on influx. We were talking about evolving more imaginative, reasonable and humane approach to the problem, such as stricter formalities in the acquisition of landed property by recent migrants etc. to allay the concerns of local populations.
Source: The Imphal Free Press
Lamka, Mar 26: In a bizarre incident a minor girl of 6 years was sodomised Tuesday at a place located about 3 kms away from the district police station between Tangnuam to Gangpimual village by a male adult.
According to sources, the minor girl was on her way home at Tangnuam from shool after writing her days examination at the Children’s Brighter School where she studies in class 'B' at about 12.15 pm.
Between Tangnuam to Gangpimual village she was stopped at a cemetery area and was forcibly taken to a secluded spot, said the sources.
She said that after some time the man who wore a half pant told her to lie down and then sodomised her. She said she was warned by the man not to shout otherwise she would be stabbed to death.
The girl after returning home played with friends in the neighbourhood as there was no one at home at that time.
Later, when her mother returned she told her to pick her from school punctually. She also complained of pain in her anus. Ultimately, when her mother enquired she came to know of the injury and took the girl to hospital.
After proper check up at the hospital some injuries were found at her anus which revealed that she was sodomised. The father of the victim is a rickshaw puller.
Regarding the incident, the village authorities of Tangnuam issued a condemnation of the incident and urged all NGOs to take steps to ensure that no such crimes are perpetrated on the minors at least.
Condemning the incident, the Children’s Brighter School students today took to the streets and took out a rally from the school upto Tiddim road and the BSF road junction.
Meanwhile, the Zomi Studnets Federation, ZSF, in a statement condemned the incident of sodomy of a class-B student of Children’s Brighter Academy on Tuesday last in the strongest possible words.
It said it would extend full support to any form of agitation to be launched in protest while demanding the government ensure the culprits are arrested and given punishment as per the law of the land.
Urging the government to take steps for payment of suitable compensation to the victims, it demanded that such incidents should not occur in the future.
Meanwhile, in another incident the DC’s official residence was pelted with stones by some miscreants on the same night.
=======
Rape cases reduce but other crimes against women on the rise
By : Thingbaijam Dhamen/IFP 3/27/2008 2:22:49 AM
IMPHAL, Mar 26: Even though cases of rape of women in Manipur sharply declined during the year 2007 with only 20 incidents taking place, other crimes against women like molestation, cruelty by husband and relatives and kidnapping and abduction are on the rise.
The annual crime graph of the Manipur police for the year 2007-08 reveals only 20 cases related with rape of women registered in police stations across the state, against 40 cases in the previous year.
The cases of molestation of women which was 33 in 2006 increased to 70 while cruelty by husband and relatives also increased from 11 to 15. A case of eve teasing was also registered by the police during 2007 even though no case was registered during 2006 and 2005.
A sharp increase of kidnapping and abduction of women was recorded as a total of 83 cases were registered during the year 2007 against 49 in the previous year.
No cases related with dowry death and trafficking of girls was registered during the period under report.
The overall cases which the state police registered during the year 2007 under Indian Penal Code, IPC was recorded at 3259 which indicates an increase of 373 from the year 2006.
During the year under report 240 murder cases, 377 attempts to murder and two culpable homicides not amounting to murder were registered. The cases were respectively 205, 265 and four in the previous year 2006.
A total of 67 cases of kidnapping for different reasons were registered during the year under report which indicates a reduction of 13 from the previous year 2006 when it was 80.
Three cases of dacoity, 161 cases of preparation and assembly for dacoity, 12 cases of robbery, 69 cases of burglary, 152 auto thefts and 302 other thefts were registered in the year which has passed.
Cases registered against extortion are on the rise as a total of 245 cases were registered during the year under report even though it was 204 in the previous year 2006.
Cases of motor accidents also rose slightly as 536 cases were registered during the year 2007 against 521 during the year 2006.
The cases registered against rioting, criminal breach of trust, cheating, counterfeiting, arson, assault during the year under report were respectively 73, 19, 93, 4, 64 and 383 respectively against 60, 40, 82, 9, 117 and 296 during the year 2006.
A sharp reduction in the cases of offence against the state were found in the annual crime report of the police as against 122 cases registered in 2006 it was only 63 during the year 2007.
Other cases registered under the IPC which were 338 in 2006 also reduced to 204 in the year 2007.
The total number of cases registered under the minor/other local and special laws enforced in the state during the year 2007 was 754 showing an increase of 271 from the previous year 2006. The total cases registered under the same category during 2006 was 483.
Out of the total of 754 cases 679 were registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A total of 403 cases were registered under the same Act during the year 2006.
Of the remaining cases five were registered under Arms Act, 35 NDPS Act, one each under Immoral Traffic (P) Act and Essential Commodities Act, five under Gambling Act and six under Registration of Foreigners Act, 1930 while the remaining seven were registered under other acts of the state.
==========
Editorial of The Imphal Free Press
Migration and Demography
3/27/2008 2:33:26 AM
In the days before the long Yaoshang holidays, the local media did see some interesting debates of the issue of economic migrants and demography. Rich as each of them was in contributing to this important discourse, in many of the arguments there had seemed to be a confusing of categories between the two central issues. The strain of xenophobia consequent upon the demography shift issue and the matter of humanitarian treatment of economic migrants. The first maybe is not altogether a phobia – an obsessive and unreasonable fear, after all after all, in a democracy, numbers decide who get to be in power. The second treats the matter as merely a question of economic migration of hapless population at the cost of ignoring the consequences of a radical altering of the demographic profile because of these migrations. Both the arguments are incompleteness and lack a holistic visualisation of the tragedy unfolding. For indeed, what we are witnessing is not one tragedy, but two working simultaneously on a single frame of space and time, which, as we see it, have no other way than to be treated together as intimately related issues, if justice and not just political correctness is the ultimate goal. Hence, if the plight of economic migrants, forced to migrate by discrimination and poverty at home is a human issue, the concerns and anxieties amongst small communities who would be their hosts, of demographic upsets which would ultimately put them at a disadvantage in the democratic power equation must be treated as equally weighty. This dilemma was clearly visible even as the unpardonable and macabre massacres of migrant labourers on March 17 and 18 unfolded. There were militants butchering the migrants probably in their belief that they were addressing the concerns of the local communities, but these same locals they thought they were patronising, were rescuing the victims of their pogrom.
As to why the economic migrants must deserve a humane treatment needs no further elaboration. It is however the “xenophobia” (within quotes because it has been argued that it is not a phobia but a real concern) caused by their continuous influx which needs a little more explanation, for beneath what seems an unreasonable emotion, there are reasons that needs more attention. For one thing, migrant labourers always manage to drag down wages. Because of their poverty and desperations, they are always willing to work for less. If today it is internal migrants who have brought down wages, tomorrow it will be migrants from Bangladesh who will drag it down further, causing another layer of tensions between the earlier economic migrants and the latter who are even more desperate. The potential for social tension caused by economic migration is self evident and indeed Assam has seen this phenomenon played out before its very own eyes. Some have argued that there are no local labour forces and cite how even rickshaw drivers cover their faces because of their lack of respect of manual labour. This is basically a Meitei centric analysis and one which totally ignores the existence of other communities which have been providing these services, like the Pangals, although it must be acknowledged that the available services are inadequate of the needs. All the same, this labour friction is a universal phenomenon, and happens even in the most sophisticated economies. One of Senator Barak Obama’s trump cards in his campaign for the Democratic Party’s ticket for American Presidential election has been his promise to restrict outsourcing of jobs to countries where skilled labour is cheap so as to leave American jobs for Americans. And we all know how successful he has been thus far. The other point about population movement and “xenophobia” is, it is a one way affair. When members of small communities move to settle amidst a much larger communities, the question of demographic upsets seldom arises. But when members of much bigger communities move to settle alongside smaller communities, the concerns provoked should come across as obvious. Just as small hill tribes fear unregulated settling of the more populous Meiteis among them, there is legitimacy in small communities of the northeast fearing large scale influxes from not just Bangladesh, but also from the larger states. We had suggested official regulatory mechanisms, but this should not be taken as a suggestion for total ban on influx. We were talking about evolving more imaginative, reasonable and humane approach to the problem, such as stricter formalities in the acquisition of landed property by recent migrants etc. to allay the concerns of local populations.
Source: The Imphal Free Press
