In the on-going case of Manipur fake encounter killing, the five police personnel, who were recently named in the charge-sheet submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of CBI have surrendered before the Chief judicial magistrate, Imphal West.
According to The Indian Express, the SIT on November 26, in its seventh charge-sheet named five police personnel and one unknown person in the alleged fake encounter case that took place in 1999. The SIT was constituted by the Supreme Court on July 14, 2017, to investigate as many as 1,528 cases of fake encounters allegedly executed by the Army, paramilitary forces and Manipur police between 1979-2012.
The five police personnel who have surrendered are inspector Pebam John who was then a constable, and inspectors Longjam Lokhon Singh Thangkhomang Kipgen, K. Bijoy Tarao and Fazur Rahman who were all sub-inspectors then, as reported by The Northeast Today.
Of the five inspectors, Pebam John, Lokhon Singh and Bijoy Tarao surrendered on November 26, and the remaining two inspectors Thangkhomang Kipgen and Fazur Rahman surrendered on November 27.
All of them have also furbished their Personal recognizance (PR) bonds of Rs 50,000. Further, the court has given the next hearing date for December 15, 2018. All the five police personnel were charged under Indian penal code (IPC) section 120-B r/w 302/342/201/218.
How long will the case go?
In 2011, Execution Victim Families Association Manipur (EEVFAM), which represents the families of the victims and Manipur based Human rights defenders filed a public interest litigation(PIL) in the supreme court to seek justice for the families of the victims.
In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI inquiry in the case. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) then constituted a five-member team to examine 97 such cases between 2000 and 2011.
On July 6, 2018, the United Nations had made a scathing remark on the delay of the investigation report into alleged killings by security forces in Manipur. The UN human rights experts urged the Indian authorities to complete thorough investigations after officials failed to meet the third deadline set by the Supreme Court for inquiries into the cases.
“We are extremely concerned that the delay appears to be deliberate, undue and unreasonable, and we condemn this lack of progress,” the experts said in a press release issued by UN Human Rights Council.
The state has a long history of violence and extrajudicial killings, it was first categorised as a ‘disturbed area’ in 1980. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was withdrawn from seven Assembly constituencies in 2014 but is still in force in other parts of Manipur.
