Imphal, Jan 14 : The Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench today directed the District and Sessions Judge, Manipur East to initiate an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Khumanthem Ajitkumar @ Naoba Singh, who was killed by the personnel of 19 Rajput Rifles on the intervening night of March 14 and 15, 2004 on Khurkul-Sekmai road.
The Gauhati High Court made it clear that the inquiry should be completed within six months and directed the parties concerned to appear before the District and Sessions Judge, Manipur East on coming February 6 for initiating the inquiry.
The directive was issued by a division bench comprising Justice T Nandakumar and Justice Mutum Binoykumar today following a writ petition filed by Khumanthem Nagor, father of the deceased, residing at Karong Mamang Leikai in Imphal West District.
Advocate Meihoubam Rakesh, who is also Director of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Paona Bazar, Imphal filed the writ petition and appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
The respondents listed in the case are the Union of India, represented by Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India; Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; GOC, 57 Mountain Division, 99 APO; Commanding Officer, 19 Rajput Rifles; State of Manipur, represented by Principal Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police, Manipur.
It may be recalled here that on the intervening night of March 14 and 15, 2004 at about 1 am, a team of army personnel of 19 Rajput Rifles (Bikaner), stationed at Leimakhong broke open the main door of the house of Khumanthem Nagor without giving any warning and barged into his house.
At that time, every member of the family was fast asleep.
All the army personnel wore combat (camouflage) dress.
Some of the personnels' faces were covered with black cloth.
The army personnel pulled out Khumanthem Dilip, youngest son of Nagor, of his bed and started beating him severely.
Dilip was sleeping in the first room of the house where the main door was located.
The army personnel asked Dilip in Hindi again and again, "Where is Naoba?" Being unable to bear the pain of the beatings, Dilip cried and called his father who was sleeping in the adjacent room.
On hearing the boy's cries, Nagor jumped out of his bed and rushed into the front room to rescue his son.
However, he was also beaten up severely by the intruding army personnel.
In the meantime, some army personnel had entered the room where Khumanthem Ajitkumar @ Naoba was sleeping.
They dragged Ajitkumar @ Naoba out of his bed and had forced him to get into one of the army vehicles and was taken into their custody.
At the time, Ajitkumar @ Naoba was wearing a loin cloth (Khudei).
One army personnel asked him to put on a pair of trousers and thus Ajitkumar put on a pair of trousers after removing his loin cloth.
Then, he was taken away in their vehicles which were parked along Imphal-Sangaithel road.
The army personnel had also searched the house and ransacked all household articles, but did not find any incriminating article.
At the time of arrest, the army personnel did not issue arrest memo to the family members.
Subsequently, the personnel of 19 Rajput Rifles had killed Khumanthem Ajitkumar @ Naoba in a stage-managed encounter along Khurkhul-Sekmai road.
There after, hey had lodged a false written report with the Sekmai Police Station stating among other things that 19 Rajput Rifles (Bikaner) under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 carried out an ambush on Khurkhul-Sekmai road.
They found one suspected one suspected moving on the road and when they challenged him, the militant opened fire upon the army personnel.
In retaliatory firing, the army personnel shot him dead.
On searching the area, the army personnel allegedly found one USA made IX Webly Revolver with six live rounds on the person of the dead miliant.
Based on the said false written report, the Officer in Charge of Sekmai Police Station registered an FIR�No 19 (3) 04 SEK PS, U/S 121/121-A/307 IPC, 10/13 UA(P) ct & 25 (1-B) Arms Act and investigated the matter.
At about 3 pm of March 16, 2004, the father of the deceased had lodged a written report with the Officer in Charge.
Patsoi Police Station stating inter alia that on March 15, 2004 at about 1 am some armed army personnel in camouflage uniform broke open the door of his house and entered inside the house without any information.
The army personnel forcibly took out his son Khumanthem Naoba who was sleeping in his bed.
After taking him from the house the army personnel had taken him to an unknown place.
Subsequently he discovered the dead body of his son Naoba at the mortuary of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences.
It is clear that the army personnel pickep up his son from his house and killed him by firing later on.
On March 18, 2004, the Joint Secretary (Home), Government of Manipur had issued a notification thereby extending the powers and jurisdiction of the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment in the whole state of Manipur for carrying out investigation of case under FIR No 9(3) 04 US 302/34 IPC & 25 (1-C) Arms Act of Patsoi Police Station relating to the killing of Khumanthem Ajitkumar @ Naoba Singh.
The above notification was issued consequent upon tremendous pressure from the public for handing over the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
However, the State Government did not hand over the investigationof the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation till date by saying that no CBI officer from the CBI has not so far turned up to collect the said case record.
The very act of 19 Rajput Rifles personnel amounts to violation of right to life enshrined in the Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Hence the case is filed praying for punishment of the errant personnel, handing over the investigation to CBI and claiming adequate compensation under the public law domain, Advocate Meihoubam Rakesh informed through a press release.