GUWAHATI: A mob in Imphal vandalised the house of a Meitei lawyer for representing a Kuki-Zo academic in the Manipur High Court.
The attack on the house of Soraisham Chittaranjan was carried out on Friday, a day after he and two fellow lawyers had filed an application in the High Court, seeking withdrawal of their appearance for Prof Kham Khan Suan Hausing, a Kuki-Zo academic, citing "personal difficulties”.
Justice A Guneshwar Sharma of the High Court had accepted their request.
Hausing is facing criminal proceedings for expressing his views on the sectarian violence in Manipur. A case was registered against him in July.
Some advocates of the High Court told TNIE that senior lawyer Anand Grover was handling the case. The role of Chittaranjan was limited to filing documents.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) condemned the incident of vandalism and threats allegedly faced by the lawyers representing Hausing.
“Chittaranjan and two other advocates, Th Zinggo and Ch Victor, submitted a petition in the Manipur High Court to be withdrawn as counsel in Mr Hausing’s case after facing multiple threats from Meitei radicals,” the ITLF claimed.
The tribal organisation said an FIR was lodged against Hausing following his interview with an online news portal. It said despite withdrawing from the case, a mob vandalised the lawyer’s residence.
“The accusations against Mr Hausing, which come under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, are clearly an attempt to silence tribals who are speaking on behalf of their community,” the ITLF said.
“The threats to the lawyers by members of their own community show the level of intolerance and radicalisation among the Meiteis. Mr. Hausing has the right to defend himself in court and the lawyers were only doing their job by filing paperwork in the case,” the organisation said.