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The manner in
which some Army personnel led by a Captain
showed off their muscle prowess at Yurembam
power sub-station and forcefully shut down
power for about 90 minutes on November 2 was
nothing less than a naked show of brute
force. What is more, the young Captain did
not hesitate to engage the Chief Secretary
of the State, who had rushed there to take
stock of the situation, to a verbal duel.
As reported in all the daily newspapers of
Imphal on November 3, the Army personnel
from the Military Engineering Service, led
by a Captain stormed the Yurembam power
station on November 2 morning and forcefully
shut down the power supply to all the region
of Imphal covered by the power sub-station.
The reason for the naked show of force was
the snapping of power supply to Leimakhong
for about 15 hours.
We agree that the power shut down for such a
long time may have been due to negligence of
the employees of the Electricity Department,
but the manner in which the Army personnel
stormed the power sub-station and shut down
the power supply is something which cannot
be accepted under any circumstances, whether
there is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
or not. What was more galling was the fact
that the Captain, a young and raw officer,
had the temerity to get into a verbal duel
with the Chief Secretary.
In many ways, the Yurembam incident was a
reflection of the manner in which security
force conduct themselves. As we understand
it, the Yurembam sub-station is a restricted
area and the question therefore arises
whether the men in uniform are above the law
to enter such a site without getting the
prior approval of the authority concerned.
What is more, the snapping off of the power
supply forcefully violates the right of the
people to get power supply.
Understandably the Chief Secretary is
believed to have taken a serious view of the
incident and has already instructed the
State Government to take up necessary steps
to initiate a criminal case against the
personnel. The PRO of the PIB (Defense Wing)
too has assured that the Army authority has
taken a serious view of the incident and
assured that fitting action will be taken up
against the guilty personnel.
These are fine and in consonance with the
rule of law, but the larger implications of
the incident should not be lost on us. It is
all about respecting the law of the land and
if the men who are here to ensure that the
law of the land prevails are going to
violate it so non-chalantly then the top
brass of the security force need some
serious self studies.
Discipline is the by word of the military.
However what the Captain and his men did at
Yurembam on November 2 defies all that
discipline stands for. The question the Army
authority should ask themselves now is, what
were the factors that emboldened the Captain
to act in such a high handed manner. Did his
superiors give him any instructions to shut
down the power supply as a retribution for
the 15 hour black out at Leimakhong? We
certainly expect Army officers to act more
responsibly. What happened at Yurembam was
nothing but goondaism at its worst level.
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