This Article is From Jan 23, 2015

Human Rights Activist Irom Sharmila Arrested Again on Attempt to Suicide Charge

Human Rights Activist Irom Sharmila Arrested Again on Attempt to Suicide Charge

File photo: Irom Sharmila

Imphal: A day after being released from jail, rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila was today arrested once again by the police under the same charge of attempt to commit suicide by means of an indefinite fast.

Imphal West Superintendent of Police Jhaljit told PTI that Ms Sharmila was arrested under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code or IPC for attempting to commit suicide.

"She has been arrested for the same crime but it is a different case. For the last case she was released by the court and we arrested her under a new case," he said.

Imphal East district chief judicial magistrate yesterday rejected charges of attempt to suicide against the 42-year-old, who is on an indefinite fast since 14 years demanding the removal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA in Manipur.

She has been kept in a government hospital under police custody where she is force fed through nose, officials said.

After walking out free last evening, Ms Sharmila had again sat on a fast in the Imphal market complex through the night.

She was attended by a team of doctors from the government hospital, officials said, adding that the police asked her to go to the hospital at Porompat but she refused.

Demanding the removal of the AFSPA Act, Ms Sharmila refused to eat or drink anything since November 2000.

On 19 August 2014, another Manipur court had ordered Ms Sharmila to be released stating that her hunger strike was a "political demand through lawful means". However, she was similarly re-arrested three days later for allegedly attempting to commit suicide.

Last month, the central government had said it has decided to repeal Section 309 of the IPC, which makes attempt to commit suicide punishable with imprisonment for up to one year.

Ms Sharmila has been arrested, released and then re-arrested from time to time on the charge of attempting to commit suicide. The maximum punishment under Section 309 of the IPC is a one-year jail term.

She began her fast in November 2002 after Assam Rifles personnel killed 10 people in Imphal airport in an alleged fake encounter. Central forces, including Assam Rifles, are deployed in Manipur under AFSPA to counter insurgents.

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