Striking Manipur tech institute students return to hostel

IMPHAL: Following the removal of the Manipur Institute of Technology's (MIT) principal in-charge, Th Kullachandra Singh, agitating students, who had taken shelter at a local community hall in Imphal for four days, have returned to their hostel. However, the institute, located at Takyel in Imphal West, is yet to resume normal classes.

Demanding Singh's removal, the engineering students had launched an agitation on September 16. They accused Singh of mismanagement, including funds utilization.

On Sunday, police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear-gas canisters to disperse the students, who were staging a demonstration at the institute's complex injuring 17 of them.

Since then, about 70 hostel boarders took shelter at a nearby community hall at Tera Yengkhom Leikai. They returned to their hostels on Wednesday night. During their stay, local club members provided food and other essentials to them.

A constituent college of the Centre-run Manipur University (MU), the institute has about 400 students some of whom are from different parts of the country. A meeting of the university's governing body held on Tuesday, besides removing Singh from MIT, also decided to initiate a probe against him. Singh will be replaced with MU dean of student's welfare R K Hemkumar as a temporary arrangement, it was decided. The probe panel will look into the financial administration and development activities of the technical institute during 2011-2013 fiscal.

Even as the students' key demand was met, they wanted a statement from the authorities that Singh would not return to the institute.

"We are thankful to the authorities for fulfilling our justified demand, but we want an official note, ensuring that Singh would not be brought back to our institution. We will start attending classes only after the agreement is signed," said an MIT student.