ACAUT Nagaland firm on unconditional release of leaders
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 14
The 24-hour business closure called by the Dimapur Urban Councils Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) in support of ACAUT Nagaland’s demand for unconditional release of their three leaders who are in judicial custody on Wednesday passed off without any untoward incident.
In main Dimapur, heeding to the call, all business establishments downed their shutters till 4pm in the late afternoon. The members of ACAUT Nagaland also continued to stage their protest with the signatory campaign at the NRL fuel station adjacent to the Clock Tower.
A slight improvement from Tuesday’s negligible presence of people attending the protest, on Wednesday, public, particularly the youths trickled in to make a pit stop and append their signatures at the poster kept outside the NRL station. According to ACAUT, approximately 15,000 signatures were appended.
Earlier, in the morning, there was a minor a scuffle when the police tried to prevent the ACAUT members from displaying the banners in front of the NRL fuel station facing the road. However, a group of women in traditional attire gathered at the site to lend support, intervened and shooed the police away.
A co-ordination meeting was also convened by the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur with the DUCCF, Joint Action Committee of the 13 colonies, GBs Union, Police, Food and Civil Supplies Department, public leaders and officials from the district administration.
DUCCF president, Tsenthungo Lotha briefing the outcome of the meeting at a sitting with ACAUT members informed that the DC mooted for establishing a Forum to address clarifications, grievances from different quarters.
Though not going into details, Lotha said there were exchanges of clarifications and responses from the different parties at the meeting on the issue at hand. The DC is learnt to have told that all parties at the meeting should be in constant touch and try to help each other in any area where clarification was sought.
While the day passed uneventfully, there was no response forthcoming to the demand for the release of the three ACAUT leaders. The police had maintained that since the three were in judicial custody, it was up to the law to take own course of action.
ACAUT members also revealed that they went to meet RZ Lotha who had filed an FIR against ACAUT on “criminal trespass” to urge him to withdraw the FIR filed by him. However, the said person was not around and only his son was home.
Meanwhile, ACAUT Nagaland said it stood by their demand for the unconditional release of the ACAUT leaders. It has also called for a public rally at NRL petro pump near Clock Tower on Thursday.
According to a press statement issued by its media cell, ACAUT along with frontal organizations of Dimapur have decided to have a peaceful public awareness and rally at NRL petrol pump premises, near Clock Tower, Dimapur at 1pm on against the “gross management and corruption in the state.”
“It is extremely unfortunate that the Government of Nagaland would not listen to the appeals of the general public and still detain three innocent public on flimsy and baseless accusation,” the ACAUT press statement read.
Stating that the Government of Nagaland is hell bent on sabotaging any initiative against corruption, ACAUT Nagaland has called all organizations, colony councils, GB’s, women organizations, mother’s, churches, student bodies and people from every walk of life to come together and say no to corruption.
DUCCF, CCN appeals
The DUCCF and the Concerned Citizens of Nagaland has appealed to all churches, organizations and general public from all walks of life, irrespective of community and tribes to come and support the mass based peaceful public rally against corruption at NRL petrol pump near city tower tomorrow at 1pm on December 15, 2016.
