Manipur killings: CBI begins probe, victims’ kin wary

New Delhi/ Guwahati: The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to probe into the extra-judicial killings by personnel of the Army, the Assam Rifles and the Manipur police from 2000 to 2012 in Manipur. Working on these directions, the CBI constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by a superintendent of police, to look into the records. The agency hopes to lodge fresh FIRs and file chargesheets in the cases.

Though the apex court directions to the CBI gave a fresh lease of hope to the victims’ families and human rights activists, they are, however, skeptical about getting justice which has so far been denied to them.

A bench comprising Justice M.B Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July14 while hearing a PIL in the alleged 1,528 extra-judicial killings by the security forces in the last 12 years in Manipur.

Asking the CBI to probe a clutch of recent cases (98), the bench said, “Petitions should be listed positively by the second week of January, 2018, so as to ensure compliance with the court’s directions for CBI investigation.”

The apex court fixed December 31, 2017 as the deadline for completion of investigation and directed the investigation agency to submit a progress report within three weeks (by August 3). The SC bench also pulled up the Manipur government for not taking action in the case. It went on to ask why was it “not supposed to do anything”.

One of the petitioners in the case, Babloo Loitongbam, the executive director of Human Rights Alert, told this newspaper, “The SC directive has come as a shot in the arm for the victims’ families. It is a significant development. However, it remains to be seen if the agency has submitted a preliminary report in the case.” He said, “Also there are certain grey areas like the ambit of the chargesheet being restricted only to those who pulled the trigger and not covering those who gave the order; these points need to be re-examined.” However, the victims’ families have kept their fingers crossed. Yaikhom Edina, 37, said, “I hope that the Manipur police personnel involved in the killing of my husband be appropriately punished. Our cries for justice should be heard at least now.”

She is the general secretary of Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association (EJEVFA) that is a co-petitioner of the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court.

Renu Takhellambam, the president of EJEVFA, whose husband was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2007, said, “I have been waiting for justice for a long time. The case being probed by the CBI under the apex court’s supervision should not cross the deadline. If justice is to prevail, there should be no question of delay.”

As per CBI sources, the agency would take possession of all records related to the cases. Based on scientific analysis of evidence, investigators would examine all those linked with the cases an submit the final reports pertaining of the 98 extrajudicial killings to the SC before the deadline (December 31).

Meanwhile, it is significant to learn that security forces personnel were also indicted in various investigations in the past, but could not be punished thanks to the immunity given under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.

Earlier in Pathribal case in March 2000, the CBI found five Army personnel guilty of killing five civilians in a fake encounter in Jammu & Kashmir and also charge-sheeted them, but the Army objected on ground that prior sanction under AFSPA should be sought before prosecuting the Army personnel.

After failing to get a reprieve in the local court and J&K high court, the Army moved the SC in 2012 which asked the former to choose between a court martial and a criminal trial. It was later learnt that the five Armymen were exonerated from a court martial due to lack of evidence!