[ Bengia Ajum ]
KAYING, 31 Oct: A group of porters here in West Siang district have alleged that soldiers of the 11 Sikh Regiment assaulted them after an argument over food.
According to reports, the incident took place on Wednesday at the porter camp. At around 8:30 pm, two porters went to the mess and were served only rice, with no vegetables. When they protested, they were told that the vegetables had run out. Soon, other porters joined in to protest against the lack of proper food.
After an intervention by a JCO, the matter was reportedly resolved, and the porters returned to their camp. However, the porters alleged that, at around 10:30 pm, soldiers arrived at their camp and assaulted them. Altogether 10 porters were beaten up, with some sustaining injuries. All the porters belong to Tato in Shi-Yomi district.
Speaking to this daily, advocate Amoni Diru, who visited the camp on behalf of the victimised porters, alleged that the porters have not been paid their salaries for the past two months. She further demanded that all the porters be relocated to another camp for their safety.
“This incident raises serious concerns over the safety of porters. These boys work very hard to earn their living by assisting the armed forces. They deserve respect for their work,” said Diru.
She met with Army officials and strongly protested the ill-treatment of the porters. “They assured us that they will release the pending two months’ salaries as soon as possible and compensate all those who were injured and whose personal belongings were damaged by the soldiers,” she added.
