Two men riding a motorcycle together in Lahe Township in Naga Self-Administered Zone are being subjected to arrest and even sentenced to jail terms, locals report.
A local from Lahe said that a man or a woman, two women, or a man and a woman are allowed to ride a motorcycle together, but men are not allowd to ride together.
Those who are arrested for riding with another man are sentenced to one month in jail.
“According to the regional law, the general administration department has banned men from riding a motorcycle together. Two women are allowed. They announced that one man is allowed with one woman on the back seat. They arrested two boys who came to the village on a motorcycle. Instead of fining them, they were sentenced to one month in jail. In fact, this town is not even under martial law,” he said.
The local said it has been about a month since the general administration department of Lahe municipality issued this local law, but the arrested have still not been released.
The announcement came after the seizure of weapons and ammunition and other equipment belonging to the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) at a hillside farm in near the model village of Gahone in Lahe Township on 8 August, residents said.
Because of the order, residents are having difficulty traveling to farms or going to the office, and people from surrounding villages are also having difficulty getting to Lehe for shopping.
“With the ban on two men riding a motorcycle, life has become very difficult. They just suppress the public. I guess it’s about safety. People have to walk around the city and are only allowed to ride a motorcycle when they pass the military gate. If they catch two people driving, they arrest them. They lock them up and have not yet released the four people they arrested,” he said.
On 28 August, pro-junta Telegram channels spread the news that four members of the PDF-Hkamti had defected to the military council side. PDF- Hkamti stated that this was not true.
Sent by NMG.