Manipur Govt. must pay full compensation, demands AICC

The Manipur Government, as directed by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), must fully compensate the damages of a Chingmeirong church, demanded the All India Christian Council (AICC) on Saturday.

Accusing the state government of refusing to pay the compensation amount, the Council leaders at a press conference in Imphal demanded that the entire amount of Rs. 2.50 Lakh be paid to the Christian community.

The National Commission for Minorities had recently served a 15 day notice to the Manipur Government to explain the state's failure to take up the case of a church building attacked and destroyed on December 14, 2008 after the village council had banned Christian prayer and worship within a ward in Chingmeirong Kabui village.

All Indian Christian Council's Secretary General Dr John Dayal and North Regional secretary Rev Madhu Chandra had met the Chief Secretary and the Inspector general of police of Imphal on the issue and briefed them on the communal situation in the state.

They also demanded the Manipur Government to guarantee freedom of faith to Christians living in rural areas. "Several obnoxious billboards have been allowed to be put up which target Christians. These billboards are violative of the Indian Penal Code and spread communal hatred against the minority Christian groups," they said in a statement.

They further observed that the Chingmeirong area comes within the Imphal municipal limits, but some villagers were running the affairs in a "feudal and illegal manner".

"Goaded by the village leadership, people raided the compound of a Christian and demolished the Church and damaged his house in December 2008," they informed. "They also imposed heavy penalty on the person and ordered him to leave the village. The family remains under threat and their house is stoned periodically."

In the press statement, the Council also urged the Chief Minister of Manipur, Mr. O Ibobi Singh, to take urgent steps to check human trafficking from the north east region.

The Council, which is working on this issue in several parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi, has offered its expertise to the state authorities in this matter.