Arrested 5 village volunteers got bail by NIA court amid protest

Imphal: A Special NIA court in Imphal on Friday granted bail to five Village Defense Volunteers (VDVs) of Manipur who were arrested by the police with arms and ammunition.

They were granted bail by the NIA court with a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 each.

The arrests and seizures were made near Meitei Mayek High School, Kongba in Manipur’s Imphal East district on September 16.

Court proceedings for the arrested Village Defense Volunteers (VDVs) were conducted through video conferencing at the Cheirap court in Imphal on Friday, amid strong protests from various persons demanding their bail.

The protests were held outside the court complex, with the protesters carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding the release of the VDVs.

They argued that the VDVs were innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case.

The court has granted bail to the arrested VDVs, after several voluntary organizations and Meira Paiblis launched ceaseless agitations and protests, including bandhs and massive court arrests, paralyzing normal life in the valley districts of the state for the past four days.

The court granted bail to the VDVs on the condition that they deposit a surety bond and cooperate with the investigation. The hearing for their case has been adjourned until next week.

Those who were released on bail are former PLA member Moirangthem Anand Singh, 45, Athokpam Kajit alias Kishorjit, 39, Loukrakpam Michael Mangangcha, 30, Konthoujam Romojit Meitei, 28, and Kaisham Johnson, 35.