Guwahati: More than 300 vehicles carrying cargo are being stuck at Lalpani along the national route that runs from Silchar to Imphal via the administrative centre of the Jiribam district in Manipur on Sunday.
Drivers protested the beating of a truck driver and the collection of illegitimate taxes by going on a “steering wheel-down strike” under the auspices of the Jiribam Road Transport Union, Manipur (JRTUM) and Silchar Truck Drivers’ Association, Assam. On this road, around 2000 cars including trucks hauling cargo, go every day.
According to JRTUM General Secretary L Maniton, a truck driver from Silchar, Assam was severely beaten on Saturday at around 1:30 pm by rogue police officers stationed at Keimai Police station in Manipur’s Noney district.
According to reports, the driver have been identified as Abdul Haq (40 years).
Due to the driver’s unwillingness to pay the Rs 300 admission charge, he was beaten. The general secretary claimed that after the driver paid the standard entry charge of Rs. 20/-, the enraged police officers assaulted him till he was bloody. According to him, the driver who sustained critical injuries is receiving treatment at a nearby health facility.
L Maniton also condemned the acts of the errant police and threatened that the agitation would be intensified unless the government takes stern and befitting punishments for the errant police personnel.