IMPHAL, March 8 NNN: It was utmost necessary to introduce a Special Intelligence Team (SIT) unit in Manipur too, said advocate Mukul Sinha on Friday. Sinha is the counsel for the petitioners in the six cases of extrajudicial killings in Manipur being probed by an independent Inquiry Committee appointed by the Supreme Court. He was interacting with media persons at the office of Human Rights Alert (HRA) in Imphal this afternoon.
Asked what outcome will be after the first hearing of the extrajudicial killings held here in Imphal, he said it was only a preliminary hearing and assured that the Supreme Court will be requested to set up a SIT unit in Manipur. He suggested that two or three cases of extrajudicial killing cases in Manipur be entrusted with the SIT. Asked what was his opinion on the number of encounters that took place in Manipur in the recent times, Sinha said as per the written evidences, it had been established that the security forces not only carried out cold blooded murders but also apparent that they seemed to be complacent with the crime they committed on the alleged offenders.
He called the term “reliable source” often used by security forces during encounters in the state as a “magic” word. “Paper works on encounters in Manipur between militants and security forces like the Assam Rifles and Manipur police are extremely poor and these are found turning and twisting,” he charged.
He alleged, “Even there is Superintendent of Police who is ignorant of denotified area of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in the state. The media needs to sensitize on it.”
The independent Inquiry Committee appointed by Supreme Court to probe six different extrajudicial killings in Manipur held its proceedings at Imphal from March 3 to 8. The commission headed by Supreme Court Justice N Santosh Hegde, former Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh and retired DGP of Karnaka Police, Ajay Kumar Singh was established under the directive of the apex court on January 4, 2013.
The commission was set up following a recent petition filed by Extrajudicial Execution Victims’ Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) which pleaded for an independent probe into more than 1500 cases of extrajudicial killings in Manipur.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/sc-will-be-requested-to-set-up-a-sit-unit-in-manipur/
