Churachandpur district of Manipur has come under wide censure and angered many after some organisations issued a directive circular for levy or structured extortion efforts disguised as donations from people in the district, which went viral on social media. The directive, titled “BITUK Category Wise,” prescribes fixed “donations” ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹70,000 according to their vocation or profession, leaving none of the community residing in the district.
Churachandpur District SP (IPS) Prakhar Pandey has issued an order on Saturday stating that it has been reported that a few illegal organisations are demanding money from police personnel of Churachandpur. He instructed all the ranks and files of the district police to abstain from yielding to their demands and asked all the aggrieved personnel to contact the office of the SP in case of exigency.
According to the circular that appeared recently on social media, it orders people to pay a fixed donation, and as per their breakdown of levy (Bituk Zah), the police constable or civil pensioner should pay an amount of ₹20,000; ₹10,000 for private teachers/mission workers/family pensioners; ₹70,000 for doctors and lecturers; ₹50,000 for central service/government teachers/army in service/officers or bank POs; and ₹40,000 for officer pensioners/army pension JCOs/police SIs/ASIs, etc.
The circular is suspected to have been issued by one Zomi Council; however, it cannot be ascertained, but the people of the district are all against such a dictate.
