Even as the state was beginning to consider shutdown strikes and highway blockades, a thing of the past as the BJP led N Biren Singh government had managed to administer without an effective strike or blockade since it came to power in March 2017, a 24-hour shutdown strike over the suspicious death of a girl student at a boarding school, crippling normal in Manipur. 

The paralleling strike was called by the Joint Action Committee, JAC, against the mysterious death of Ningthoujam Babysana Chanu, a 13-year-old girl student of Standard Roberth Higher Secondary Higher School who was found dead by hanging in her shared room at the boarding of the school on July 18 morning.

Meanwhile, in an effort to resolve the crisis, Manipur chief minister interacted with the members of the JAC and said that the case will be helped over to the CBI for a thorough investigation.

With all forms of public transport staying off the road, schools, and colleges, business establishments and even government offices were severely hit as people will not turn up.

While the strike was effective but peaceful throughout the valley areas of the state, including Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Bishenpur districts, locals of Thangmeiband and few other constituencies in Imphal west districts enforced the strike by putting up roadblocks from morning to dusk enforcing the strike.

From the administration side, there was a heavy deployment of police personnel to prevent any untoward incident. On several occasions, the alert police foiled bids by the protestors at Thangmeiband to march up to the CM’s secretariat.

“My daughter will not return back but let her death bring a change in the boarding system in the state by legislating proper rules and regulations for the boarding to maintain so that such incident does not happen in the future,” said Ningthoujam Tomchou Singh.