Lamphel Khunou residents accuse CM Biren over serving eviction notice in evening

Imphal: Tension erupted at Lamphel Khunou, Imphal West between its residents and the Manipur police over the serving of an eviction notice in the late evening of Tuesday.

Residents of the area accused Chief Minister N Biren Singh of carrying out the act with ‘vendetta’.

The incident occurred at around 9 pm on Tuesday when a team from Lamphel police station, led by an officer-in-charge, came to deliver eviction notices to the residents of Lamphel Khunou, Imphal West.

Tension arose between the locals and the police personnel during the exchange of arguments.

The residents of the area stated that they would not accept the serving of eviction notices during the night after office hours.

Police told them that they were following instructions from the concerned authorities and appealed to the residents to cooperate with the procedure.

As the locals obstructed the police from carrying out their duties, the police personnel left without completing their task.

Ch. Bijoy, a resident of Lamphel Khunou, said some police personnel, along with 3-4 administrative staff from the DC’s office, Imphal West, came and attempted to serve the eviction notice in the late evening. The locals objected and did not allow them to post the eviction notices at their homes.

Bijoy, who happened to be former BJP Manipur Pradesh spokesperson, said the notice stated that the people residing in the area were illegal occupants, and all residents were required to vacate their properties by 3 pm on October 6. The notice also warned that failure to comply would result in forced eviction the following day.

He mentioned that an SDO named Imran Khan, who had been transferred from the DC’s office, Imphal West, on September 15, was re-engaged just 15 days later with a hidden agenda and served the eviction notice.

Bijoy said the concerned court had already directed that the hearing of the land dispute case involving the Lamphel Khunou residents would take place on October 9. The court also ruled that an immediate hearing would be held if any emergency or forced eviction occurred before this date.

The residents of Lamphel Khunou strongly condemned the tactic of serving eviction notices at night, followed by a two-day court holiday.

Bijoy alleged that the act seemed like a vendetta by the chief minister against him, which was deeply disappointing.

Bijoy suggested that instead of serving eviction notices to the residents of Lamphel Khunou, who had been living in the area for over 40 years, the authorities should focus on relocating the internally displaced people (IDPs) affected by the ongoing crisis.