Editor Agartala, Jul 12, 2017 : Reminiscent of the nude show staged by a group of Manipuri women in front of Assam Rifles camp in the heart of Imphal as a mark of protest, a group of 14 IPFT workers stood nude in front of the Champak Nagar bridge, gateway to the Barmura hill ranges, this morning as part of a bizarre attention-drawing exercise. The intriguing incident took place early in the morning when there were very few onlookers around but the few who came across the bizarre scene simply ran away from the obscene sight. The security forces flaunted ‘lathis’ as a mark of initiating drastic action and the trouble-makers fled the spot.
Senior police sources feigned ignorance of what had happened though later in the morning SP (West) reached the spot , followed by DM (West) Milind Ramteke . Police authority posted a multipurpose toilet vehicle on the spot for sleep, rest, bathing and response to calls of nature by officers in anticipation of a prolonged movement by the IPFT.
The DM has returned to Agartala but SP (West) Abhijeet Saptarshi is camping there. Both the police authority as well as the IPFT leadership have got in touch with prime minister’s office in Delhi because of IPFT’s insistence on talking to state government and on acting under Delhi’s assuance . But no signal has emanated from Delhi so far. Yesterday in the evening a delegation of IPFT leaders had tried to meet the governor Tathagata Roy to intervene in the matter but the governor had left for Delhi. Official sources said that the ongoing movement would fizzle out soon as the IPFT cadres are growing increasingly restive. ‘They are now carrying on the sit-in by batches with one group of workers replacing the other at regular intervals; they cannot sustain the movement for a very long time’ sources said.
