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CHAMPHAI, JULY 5: Citizens of Bethel Veng in Champhai town, Mizoram, staged a protest in front of the Champhai police station protesting the grant of bail to nine accused in the murder of a youth in the locality. Members of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) staged the protest and expressed strong discontent with the way law enforcing authorities were dealing with the case.
The protesters accused police of negligence, putting the blame for the release of the accused on investigators’ failure to present a chargesheet within the 90-day legal window. This failure, they said, allowed the accused to be granted bail and evade further detention. “Police inaction is an insult to the nation. We think the case in-charge officer is not taking proactive action because the victim hailed from a poor family,” one protestor stated at the demonstration.
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The 28-year-old victim Pausianmuanga is said to have died after he fell from a pavilion while involved in a group fight at a football field in Champhai on March 29. Although he was rushed to a hospital, he succumbed to his wounds later.
Nine people had been arrested by police in relation to Pausianmuanga’s death. These include Lalruatthara, who had surrendered at the Champhai police station on the day of the event. In spite of the arrests, the protestors claim that the absence of urgency and seriousness in the investigation has deprived the victim and his family of justice. The protest brought attention to increasing public anger with what is seen by many as systemic indolence, especially when the victims belong to economically challenged families.
