Imphal: The women's wing of the All Manipur Students' Union staged protests here on Monday, demanding immediate and stringent punishment for rapists.

The students marched towards the governor's bungalow and the chief minister's residential office after staging a sit-in at Keishampat. When police tried to stop them, the protesters confronted the forces. Some were injured while some managed to reach the gate of the chief minister's residential office.

Nongthombam Bidyarani, convener of the women's wing of AMSU, said, "The government should frame an anti-rape law or hang the rapists in front of the public or jail them for life. The women in the state live in constant panic. The rapists here are let free after putting them behind bars for a year or two. Appropriate punishment has not been given to rapists so far, which has led to increase in rape incidents."

On March 29, a minor was allegedly raped in Thoubal district. The alleged rapist was produced in a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) special court on April 5 and was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.

On April 2, another minor was allegedly raped by the school van driver here. He was arrested the next day and the POCSO special court remanded him in 15-day judicial custody on April 7.

On April 4, a 22-year-old mentally unsound woman was allegedly raped after being abducted from Thabal Chongba celebration site in Imphal East. Police arrested the alleged rapist the next day.

The police allowed a few representatives of the women's wing to submit their memorandum at the chief minister's office. The memorandum cites 14 rape cases in the state since January 2 and seeks urgent steps to check the rising case of rape in the state.

It demands that the fast-track courts in Manipur be made functionally effective to control crimes against women and children, that such courts be established in all the districts to mitigate crime against women and children and that special training be provided to police personnel, particularly women police, on dealing with women and child-related crimes and gender and human rights in general.

It also demanded the establishment of a monitoring cell, comprising experts in women and child-related fields, student organisations, retired judges and police, to monitor cases related to crime against women and children.