2009 Imphal ‘fake encounter’ victim’s mom appeals CBI to challenge SJ order
GENERAL
Imphal: Chungkham Taratombi Leima, mother of Chungkham Sanjit Meitei who was killed in the infamous 2009 city Imphal ‘fake encounter’ case, has requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the investigating agency, to file a criminal appeal to the High Court against a recent order passed by a sessions court which acquitted all police personnel accused in the case.
Besides Sanjit, a pregnant woman, Thokchom Rabina Devi was also killed by a stray bullet in the infamous firing occurred at BT Road on July 23, 2009.
The case was handed over to the CBI on public pressure to investigate in which nine Manipur police commandos were accused.
Its main accused, head constable Th Herojit Singh had confessed that Sanjit was killed by him on the order of higher authorities.
Following trail, the session judge, Imphal East had on July 26 this year passed its verdict, acquitting all the nine cops owing to lack of evidence.
The verdict said “ Due to want of prosecution sanction under section 197 CrPC and due to lack of Certificate required under section 65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act, all the accused persons are hereby acquitted from the present case.”
Disgusted with the order, Taratombi, a resident of Khurai area in Imphal East district on Tuesday requested the director of CBI to file a criminal appeal against the sessions court’s order to the Manipur high court.
An application sent to the director by her on Tuesday said “It is beyond my imagination as to how such an important case of such public importance can be shot down on such hyper technical grounds…”
“…Photographs of the sequence of event leading to the killing” of her son published in a magazine clearly showed the “cold blooded nature of the killing by taking him inside a pharmacy,” Taramombi said, adding that this fact was established in Sanjit’s post mortem report .
Moreover the main accused Herojit Singh had “publicly confessed” Sanjit’s killing “on the order of higher authorities” and the media had widely published the confession and his affidavit was also submitted even to the Supreme Court …” she said.
Reacting to Taratombi’s request, noted human rights activists Babloo Loitongbam on Wednesday said he looked forward to CBI to take considerate view for filing an appeal against the session court’s order.
“We hope that this appeal will go sooner rather than later” said Loitongbam, executive director of Human Rights Alert (HRA).