A 24-hour bandh has been called in Manipur to protest the killing of an unarmed civilian by the police over a minor traffic argument in Imphal on Wednesday.
R K Sanajaoba alias Jao, 40, was killed by armed security escorts of the officer-in-charge of Patsoi police station at about 1030 IST at Sagolband Khongnang Hogaibi in the heart of capital Imphal.
Jao was the nephew of former chief minister R K Jaichandra.
Eyewitnesses said Jao was riding ahead of the escort vehicle of the OC. The police vehicle was impatient to overtake Jao, who was unable to give way because of heavy traffic.
As soon as the vehicle overtook Jao, a constable sitting in the vehicle hit him with a lathi and sped away.
An enraged Jao overtook the police Gypsy half-a-kilometre down the road and signaled it to stop. As soon as the vehicle stopped, two policemen jumped down and started raining blows on Jao for daring to stop the
OC's vehicle.
Jao retaliated and a fight ensued, people who witnessed the scene said.
Soon, another police constable stepped down from the vehicle. Armed with a lathi, he started beating up Jao.
However, Jao managed to snatch the lathi and started thrashing the cops, eye-witnesses said.
At this point, the driver of the Gypsy came out and fired at Jao's legs. The shot, however, went wide and the driver fired twice again hitting Jao on the side of his stomach and chest.
The man who fired the fatal shots and the other policemen, however, have a different story.
The driver, Ningombam Ibomcha, has said Jao stopped their vehicle and came charging towards the OC. Two policemen tried to stop him, but he pushed them aside. "I got down from the vehicle and fired two rounds on the ground to warn the man. However, as the man tried to attack me, I shot him," he said.
Jao's family have refused to take the body back demanding action against the policemen involved in his killing.
As news of the Sanajaoba's killing spread, enraged locals came out and blocked the road from Sagolband Tera bazaar to Wahengbam Leikai.
Jao leaves behind his wife, two daughters and a son.
The police have, meanwhile, suspended the driver who fired at Jao and ordered a CID probe into the incident.
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