School children protest against abduction spree

Imphal: A group of school students took to the streets without their clothes in Manipur to protest against separatist groups accused of abducting children in a bid to bolster their ranks.

The protest in Imphal East on Monday by a group of nearly 20 boys - all aged between four and eight - got local residents talking of a similar protest by a group of elderly women in Imphal in 2004 to protest the custodial death of a young woman, 24-year-old Manorama Devi.

The children, many of them in nothing more than than their underwear, carried placards reading: "We don't want to be separated from our mothers" and "We want pens, not guns."

Students in large numbers, most of them in school uniforms, marched alongside the naked protesters to draw attention to militant groups that have sought to induct child combatants.

Security forces in the state have meanwhile arrested seven people said to be involved in a wave of child kidnapping incidents since May. There are at least 19 active militant outfits operating in the state.

"The seven suspects belong to different militant groups and they were involved in the kidnapping of children for recruitment in rebel groups," a spokesperson of the paramilitary Assam Rifles said yesterday.

Since May 6, when the first two cases of disappearance of children came to light, militants have abducted up to 30 children from various parts of the Imphal valley.

Some of the rebel groups, mainly the two factions of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, have admitted having children in their ranks and claimed the kids have joined the group of their own volition.

Sign of 'desperation'

Authorities have rejected rebel claims that the children joined rebel groups on their own.

"The kidnapping of children by militant groups indicate they are getting desperate. It clearly means the rebel groups are not getting mature people to join their ranks," said Manipur Director General of Police Y. Joykumar Singh.

Authorities have asked parents not to let their children go out unaccompanied by adults.