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Arrested ACAUT members come out of District Jail Dimapur after their release on Friday.[/caption]
Dimapur, Dec, 16: The three ACAUT members – Joel Nillo Kath, Simon Kelio and Hukiye Yepthomi – arrested on charges of ‘criminal trespass’ on December 12 last, were released on bail Friday afternoon.
They walked out of the District Jail Dimapur, commonly known as Sub-Jail, at 2.15 pm on Friday. Their family members, representatives of ACAUT, Central Nagaland Tribes Council, Nagaland Tribes Council, Dimapur Urban Council Chairman Federation, Concerned Citizens of Nagaland and other civil organizations received them outside the prison.
The decision to apply for bail was, according to member of ACAUT consultative body, Khekiye K Sema, taken collectively by ACAUT, Central Nagaland Tribes Council, Nagaland Tribes Council, Dimapur Urban Council Chairman Federation, Concerned Citizens of Nagaland and Youth Association of Nagaland.
“They (the three ACAUT members) have more than amply displayed their principled stand not to apply for bail since they did not commit any crime. But the fact of the matter is that their innocence can be proven at any court.
“So it was our common decision that they need to come out. Because the (ACAUT) team needs to be in full strength to deal with what is to come ahead,” Sema told reporters.
‘Gloves are off now’
One of the critical issues, he said, was that “Mr TR Zeliang has declared his policy to protect the corrupt on a war footing” and ensure that the culprits were not arrested.
“In as much the ACAUT is concerned, the gloves are off now. Mr TR Zeliang has declared war now. We are ready to face it. If they have war in mind, they will be sufficiently be given a response. ACAUT will not back off,” he said.
According to Sema, ACAUT “intends to go right to the bottom of all scandals in the state Food and Civil Supplies department” carried out with “active participation” of Zeliang. “Here we are naming Mr TR Zeliang, not the chief minister. The chief minister’s is an office of the people. We are using Mr TR Zeliang as an individual,” he said.
Reiterating that ACAUT will pursue all available legal options, Sema said “once Tinku (Sethi) is brought to justice, many more heads will roll” in the state bureaucracy as well. “We are very aware that we are up against a very formidable opposition”.
He also said that the state government citing ‘festive season’ to promulgate 144 CrPc at Clock Tower area on Thursday was “a very, very poor excuse to silence the rights of the people”. ACAUT, it was informed, is contemplating writing a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission in connection with Thursday’s incident at Khermahal junction.
ACAUT also has expressed gratitude to Central Nagaland Tribes Council, Nagaland Tribes Council, Dimapur Urban Council Chairman Federation, Concerned Citizens of Nagaland, Youth Association of Nagaland, Joint Action Committee of 13 villages/colonies, Chumukedima Area Village Councils Associations, apex Mother’s Association of different tribes and all those organizations that “stood by us”.
“I will sum it up in one sentence: Prison is more honourable than the mainstream society that we live in”, said Joel Nillo Kath when asked of the experience inside the prison. The three ACAUT members shared how the other inmates inside the prison were “so supportive and all praising”.
According to Simon Kelio, two of the other inmates even slept on the floor and offered their cots to them. “It was very cordial and we felt more humility and camaraderie inside. It was a better world,” he said.
By the second day of their stay inside the prison, according to Kelio, the other inmates came to know of the reason behind their imprisonment. “We know you are here for the right cause,” he quoted the other inmates as saying.
Even the jail officials were very kind to them, he said. One of the jail guards was a former student of his, Kelio – who is the principal at one of the private colleges in Dimapur – shared.
“We believed in our cause, that is why we were inside the prison. We will not relent but ensure that this will be an all-out war on corruption,” Joel said. Hukiye Yepthomi also assured ‘this is just the beginning’. “We thank all those who have stood by us,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was suggested that Tinku Sethi and Nirmal Jain have applied for anticipatory bail on Friday. ACAUT has also informed that it would be filing an FIR against G Sarkar and A Jain, to whom R Zumomo Lotha or RZ Lotha has assented power of attorney to run the two storage facilities at Kevijau and Lhomothi colonies.
