Zeliangrong bodies condemn killing of two Zeliangrongs in bus fire

IMPHAL, Oct 25: The Zeliangrong Union (Assam, Manipur, Nagaland), ZU(AMN), and the Zeliangrong Youth Front (Assam, Manipur, Nagaland), ZYF(AMN), have strongly condemned the burning of passenger bus by KLO and KLA militants on the NH-39 at Naorijan in Assam last Thursday resulting in the death of two passengers.The two bodies have said in a press statement that the act itself was like targeting a particular community by the proscribed KLO and KLA outfits since no other passengers were victims in the incident, except the two members of the Zeliangrong community.The ZU and ZYF have demanded that the outfits compensate the families of the two victims as per Zeliangrong customary practice and also appealed to the government to take up appropriate action against the culprits along with providing compensation to the deceased’s families.A separate press release from the All Zeliangrong Students’ Union (Assam, Manipur, Nagaland) while strongly condemning the act as savage has dismissed the irresponsible apology made by the KLO and KLA.The outfits’ claim that the arson was due to tax related matters was an internal problem with the bus proprietor and did not call for the harassment and killing of passengers, the body said.The body has also asked the state government to address such incidents in a proper way as the two dead persons were citizens of Manipur.The AZSU further condemned the Ragailong blast in which 17 people died including a Class X student named Shangailung Maringmei. Such attacks in civil areas should be shunned in future, it said while observing that such killings of innocents and students was unwarranted.The union expressed its grief and shared the sorrow of the bereaved families of the Ragailong blast and the Khatkhati bus incidents.The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also strongly condemned the burning of two passengers inside a bus at Naorijan area in Assam.The act of burning the bus while the passengers were still inside the bus was an act of terrorism, it said while stating that the party shared the sorrow felt by the families. (Courtesy:IFP)