After being on fast for nearly 16 years in protest against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Irom Sharmila is ending her hunger strike.
Sharmila reached the court in an ambulance and amid tight security. After reaching there, Sharmila told court about her decision to end fast and urged it to expedite the process for her release.
“The court examined two witnesses. She has now got bail on personal bond of Rs. 10,000,” Sharmila’s lawyer L Rebada Devi said.
The court is yet to give her release orders and till then Sharmila has been taken back to judicial custody. The next date of hearing in the case is August 23.
Court officials told that the court will issue the order to the jail authority to formalise her release on Tuesday itself.
She had earlier announced that she would break her fast and join politics as she wants Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to be repealed through political means. Addressing the media on Tuesday, shortly after ending her fast, Sharmila said, “I want to join politics as I’ve been called the Iron lady of Manipur and I want to live up to that name. I want to be the chief minister of Manipur and I want my people to believe in me.”
A large number of her supporters and women activists under the forum of Sharmila Kunba Lup meet her as she starts her new journey. However, Sharmila’s 84-year-old mother Shakhi Devi is not likely to meet her.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in effect in Indian-ruled Kashmir and northeastern areas facing separatist insurgencies. The law gives security forces the right to shoot to kill suspected rebels without fear of possible prosecution and to arrest suspected militants without warrants. It also gives police wide-ranging powers of search and seizure.
It prohibits soldiers from being prosecuted for alleged rights violations unless granted express permission from the federal government. Such prosecutions are rare.
