By Our Correspondent

Guwahati: Expressing serious concern over a brutal attack on a Manipuri film-maker by separatist militants, the Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) urged the authority to take serious note of the situation where the banned armed militant outfits continue targeting civilians for not entertaining their extortion notices.

According to Imphal based media outlets, popular Meitei film director M. Raghumani was abducted from his residence at Imphal on the night of

2 March 2016 and tortured him near the Ngaina Ching locality. Badly injured Raghumani was in unconscious condition, when the locals found him next morning. He was shifted to a private hospital and still undergoing treatment in a critical condition.

The local media, quoting the responsible police sources, also reported that Raghumani was targeted by militants for not obeying their demand to offer the ‘protection money’.  A former office-bearer of Film Forum Manipur (FFM)  Raghumani received the extortion notice from the underground militants, though he could not entertain them on time. The FFM members have already reacted angrily to the incident without naming the culprits.

The PPFA, while denouncing the militants’ attack on unarmed civilians just for not paying the demanded amount of money, called on the Manipur chief minister O. Ibobi Singh to take prompt actions against those goons so that they cannot run a parallel government there. The forum also appealed to the civil society groups including the media fraternity of Manipur to stand behind Raghumani at this time of crisis.

Issued by Rupam Barua, Nava Thakuria, Pramod Kalita for PPFA