Manipur News

JIRIBAM | Jan 8

Monitoring Committee, CHC, Jiribam has opposed the pen-down strike by staffs of 50 bedded hospital of Jiribam district, stating that shutdown of the only hospital in the district has brought more hardship to the people.

A release said that while the public are urging the authority concerned to fulfil various shortages in the hospital like lack of specialist doctors and proper laboratory, the sudden strike by the staffs with no functioning of casualty has made the public in a situation to take up various actions against the act of the staffs.

The committee further appealed the authority concerned to release the six month pending salaries of the hospital staffs and end the issue immediately.

The release also stated that the hospital staffs should withdraw their strike concerning the difficulties faced by the public. If the hospital shutdown continues for more days, the committee shall go for intense action against it along with various CSOs, it added.

By Paojel Chaoba

IMPHAL | Jan 8

Head constable Herojit submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court stating that he has knowledge of several fake encounter cases perpetrated in the state and maintained dairies of the killings.

He also petitioned the apex court that his submission that he had killed Chungkham Sanjit on the orders of his senior officer Akoijam Jhalajit Singh in 23 July, 2009 also be accepted by the Supreme Court.

Imphal Free Press had published Thounaojam Herojit’s confession on January, 26, 2016 that he himself had shot dead Sanjit on order of his superior officer. The confession was made to the media and later an affidavit stating the same was handed over to the sessions court.

The case presently in the state judiciary is moving at a snail’s pace even after the CBI submitted its charge-sheet implicating several policemen in the fake encounter killing. At present, the case is still going on in the session’s court.

Herojit in his affidavit has maintained that he cannot foresee the end of justice from the state judiciary and hence submitted his affidavit to the Supreme Court which was accepted on January 5 last. The submission was made on his behalf by human rights activist Babloo Loitongbam.

The affidavit context was further tendered as part application of the criminal writ petition of 129 of 2012 where the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families, Manipur (EEVFAM)  contested in the Supreme Court regarding the 1528 alleged fake encounter perpetrated in the state from 2003 till 2009.

Babloo Loitongbam in his application to the court regarding Herojit’s affidavit appealed the court that Herojit was present when a large number of persons were executed in an extra-judicial manner by the state police and he maintained dairies of the said encounters.

The writ petition states that the Supreme Court orders the CBI to produce the said dairies which were confiscated from Herojit and also to direct the sessions judge of Imphal West to record his statement under Section 164 of CrPC immediately in the interest of justice.

Record my statement, pleas Herojit

Our Bureau

IMPHAL | Jan 8

Manipur’s once-dreaded encounter specialist, head constable Thounaojam Herojit Singh has now moved the Supreme Court with a sensational disclosure that he was “witness to a large number of fake encounters in Manipur between 2003 and 2009.”

In his affidavit Herojit, 36, son of Th. Shyamkumar Singh of Lamdeng Awang Leikhai, Imphal West, currenty at Delhi, said that he was making the affidavit to put on record that he was a witness to a large number of fake encounter killings in Manipur during the period 2003–09. All these fake encounters were done on the direct order of the superior officer, the affidavit said.

Herojit informed that he maintained in his own hand 3-4 diaries of these fake encounters in which he had entries serial wise of (I) the name of the victim (II) the age (III) parentage (IV) address (V) place of occurrence (VI) date of the killing or arrest (VII) remarks such as “killed” or “done”or “arrest” and; (VII) the call sign code of the superior who gave the order to kill, the affidavit stated. 

As per his recollection, these diaries were seized by the CBI from his government quarters at Manipur Police Commando Complex at Minuthong, Imphal, sometime in 2010 in the presence of his family and without taking his signature on the seizure panchnama and without giving him a list of the diaries seized, the affidavit informed.

He asserted his belief in the affidavit that the CBI will destroy or suppress these diaries and hence one of the reasons for his making of the affidavit is to ensure that the diaries are produced before the court.

The affidavit further mentioned that immediately after the seizure of the diaries, the CBI called him to their office in Imphal several times and repeatedly questioned him about the entries in his diaries.

He further stated that he was also making the affidavit to tell the court that he can contribute to the investigation since he was present at many of these fake encounters in respect of which the court has directed investigation to be done.

In 2017, he repeatedly requested the CBI officer ASP Shukla to record his statement regarding his presence at the fake encounters on the orders given by his superior officers, but nothing came of it, the affidavit mentioned.

The affidavit continued saying that he first spoke to the press on January 25, 2016 in respect of the fake encounters of July 23, 2009, where on the orders of additional SP, A.K. Jhalajit, an unarmed Manipuri boy named Chungkham Sanjit Meitei (23) was extra-judicially executed in a chemist shop in broad day light in the presence of TV cameras which showed that Jhalajit was speaking to him outside the chemists shop. Jhalajit subsequently took the stand in the sessions court in his examination-in-chief that he was nowhere near the place of the incident as under: “within a period of 5 minutes of my arrival at B.T. Road, I heard sounds of gunshot while I was near the median of the road at B.T. Road. Only after a minute when the gunshot stopped, I got up and started taking stock of situation. I did not even know exactly from which place the sound of gunshot was coming. When I inquired, I came to know that it was from Maimu Pharmacy, where a youth was shot by H.C Herojit and rifleman Toyaima as per the version of the person gathered there but I cannot confirm whether Herojit and Toyaima had shot the said youth.” 

It was also mentioned that the video footage of the incident dated July 23, 2009 was at Annexure B in the affidavit.

In his press statement on January 25, 2016, he had mentioned to the press which was video recorded, that the extrajudicial execution of Chungkham Sanjit was on the orders of A.K. Jhaljit, it further said.

The incident was widely covered in the newspapers and on TV, the affidavit said adding there were widespread protests in Manipur and elsewhere.  Finding themselves without any possible defence, the state filed a charge-sheet against him on September 9, 2010 making out as if AJhalajit had nothing to do with the incident, the affidavit continued.

During the trial he was not given a lawyer of his own choice, it said.  State of Manipur appointed a lawyer to represent all the accused persons, it further said. The prosecution and the defence lawyers were acting together, the affidavit informed.

His defence case was never put to the prosecution witness, it continued.  Even in Jhalajit’s cross examination no suggestion was put to him that he had ordered the execution and that he was very much on site, it said. When he made an affidavit on February 7, 2016 and gave it to the trial court judge, the lawyers supposedly acting in his defence abandoned him saying that since he had given an affidavit to the court they could not defend him, it further said. Apparently the court appointed an amicus but this needs to be verified, the affidavit sated. In any case, he was never given a chance to appoint a lawyer of his choice and went unrepresented, it added.

It was further stated that he was bringing it to the court’s attention for the limited purpose of putting the facts on record and nothing else as he intends to try and have a senior lawyer appointed to defend him in the trial court. 

Even though he asked the CBI officer to have his statement recorded, and to produce his diaries so that he could give a comprehensive statement of how he was present at the place and time of a large number of fake encounters and also disclose the identity of the senior officers who had ordered the extrajudicial executions, the CBI was completely disinterested and seemed to want to cover up the enormous crimes that have taken place, the affidavit further said.

The affidavit continued stating that simultaneously, cover up plans were being made to exterminate him so that he can no longer be a witness to these crimes in Court.  On April 30, 2016, at 8.30 pm a TATA pickup truck without lights and number plates deliberately slammed into his car about a kilometre from his house with the intention of killing him, the affidavit said.

He was serious inured with multiple fractures and had to take 38 stitches, it said. “I continued to pose a threat to all the officers who gave orders and routinely continued to give orders without hesitation and without reason for the extrajudicial executions of innocent citizens of India and this is why I fear that I will suffer the same fate,” the affidavit said.

It was with this sense of urgency that he had made the affidavit to have his diaries recovered before they were destroyed by the CBI and have his 164 Cr PC statement recorded in court, the affidavit informed.

Mixed feeling of joy and fear among women vendors

By Phurailatpam Keny Devi and B. Rakesh Sharma

IMPHAL | Jan 7

Almost two years ago a natural disaster devastated the iconic women’s market in Imphal, a one of its kind in India, ‘Ema Keithel’ leading to many unbearable hardship of thousands of women vendors many of whom are sole breadwinners of their families.

However their sufferings are predicting to find some relief from January 22 onwards as the concerned authorities have assured them of shifting their vending spaces from the temporary market they are currently accommodated in, to the repaired original market complexes on this day.

Yambem Babuni, who is in her 60s selling traditional attires of Manipur, said “we are overwhelmed with the decision of shifting to the repaired market place as we would get the opportunity of selling our product in a separate section.”

She is one of the many vendors shifted to the temporary market located between Johnstone Higher Secondary School and BT Park.

She lamented about the drop in daily sales after shifting to the temporary market. “It is really disheartening when I compare the sale I was able to make in a day in original market shed and the figure these days. Sometime I have had to ask for money from relatives as my earnings were inadequate in this location.”

She continued inappropriate location hit the business.

K. Anandi from Sagolband Bijoy Govinda said “We are very happy that crumbled building has been rebuilt. But if we think about the construction style there is no point to be happy. I feel insecure. There is a big question mark about quality and safety of these complexes.”

She mentioned that some of the women vendors had approached the builders and they assured verbally that nothing would happen. “Just to make us see it for ourselves that the repaired building is safe we pray to almighty that an earthquake may happen before shifting to the rebuilt market shed and see if it can stand the shock.”

On the other hand PWD officials assured that the buildings of Ima Keithel No. 2 and Ima Keithel No. 3 will be completely safe and secure as the renovation works are done with all the latest technical support.

A consultant from West Bengal, Somnath Ghosh will check and review the quality of the two buildings after completion of the renovation works.

Rs. 21 crores has been sanctioned by the state government for the renovation works.

A PWD engineer said as MAHUD minister, Th. Shyamkumar had announced to hand over the two buildings to MAHUD department on January 22, 2018 “Phairen Panchamni day”, PWD is working on war footing to finish the renovation works.

More than 90 percent of the renovation works has been completed. Only painting, toilet construction and electric fitting are yet to be completed, the engineer added.

When enquired about the underground parking facilities, the engineer said parking will not be available as for now since it is not included in the renovation works.

“The plan to include underground parking may be under consideration,” he added.

The two buildings had been badly damaged by the massive earthquake on January 4, 2016. As a result women vendors of the two market buildings were shifted to a temporary market shed.

Ima Keithel is the only market in the world which is completely run and managed only by women.