Villagers Turn Violent as Children are Lured to Rebel Camps

By Iboyaima Laithangbam

Child soldiers in the ranks of PREPAK line for a photo shoot

Imphal, Sep 6 : In yet another instance of recruiting child soldiers to the proscribed underground organizations in Manipur, the irate villagers of Awang Khunnou in Imphal West torched the house of a boy who had lured away two children for taking to the camp of the rebels. Police have arrested some persons and investigation is going on.

Yumnam Joykumar, the Director General of Police, says that due to the reprehensible crimes some armed persons are committing in the name of armed revolution, no boy or girl volunteers to join the outfits. As a result, some outfits are resorting to recruiting child soldiers through paid agents.

Reports said that a 10-year-old boy, K. Roshan, had lured away his cousin, K. Sunilkumar, 13, and a relative, K. Jupiter, 13, to play football in the village ground. Roshan's aunt persuaded Sunil Kumar and Jupiter to accompany her, promising mobile handsets and computer games. Roshan was left behind.

The two boys later told journalists that they were taken to Imphal in an autorickshaw from where they were taken by some other youths in a car, to an underground camp where there were lots of armed rebels. They were told that they would be shot dead if they try to escape. They slept in the camp that night. During this period the woman, who had lured away the boys, when contacted by the parents over the phone, had vaguely assured that the boys would return home.

The following day, the rebels held a meeting among themselves. They asked the two boys to buy some snacks and sent them out with Rs. 200. On the way, they came across a bus in which they boarded towards Imphal. They reached home in an autorickshaw.

The villagers held a meeting to chalk out a plan on how to deal with the issue. Police rushed there and took the boys into custody for investigation.

The public meeting decided to torch the house of Roshan. However, as the fire-fighters rushed there in time, the house was saved from total destruction.

Recruiting child soldiers is a thriving business, as the agents are handsomely paid.