Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning yet another case of abduction and extrajudicial execution in Manipur. After unidentified persons were seen abducting a man in April, the local police reported having killed him in an armed encounter later that evening. Given the widespread pattern of extrajudicial executions in the state and the text-book nature of this case it is suspected that this alleged ‘encounter’ is one more attempt to cover up a murder committed by state agents. It must be thoroughly and transparently investigated.
CASE DETAILS:
On 8 April 2010 Mr. Irengbam Gunindro failed to return home and his family found that his phone has been switched off. He had left the house at around 3:20pm on his scooter (registration No. MN0B-3029), which was found abandoned the next morning on Khamnam Road with Gunindro’s helmet on the seat.
A witness living nearby told the family that at about 3:30 the previous afternoon he had seen Gunindro talking with three or four unknown persons who were in a white car. The witness saw them force Gunindro into the car and drive away.
The family met with the village head and asked him to contact the police and ask whether they had arrested Gunindro, since arbitrary arrests and detentions by police are common in the area. Police officers denied knowledge of any such arrest.
The family then tried to gather information through local journalists and were told by one reporter later that afternoon that an encounter death had been reported. The body was in the morgue of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Manipur (RIMS). The family were able to find out that the colours of the clothing on the body matched those worn by Gunindro the day before, so they visited the morgue and identified Gunindro there.
Local residents held a meeting and formed a solidarity group, or Joint Action Committee (JAC). They held a sit-in that day to protest against the killing, and later submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Manipur that demanded a judicial enquiry and the prosecution of the perpetrators.
Finally on 10 April a local daily newspaper quoted the PRO Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South) as saying that Gunindro was killed by the 28 Assam Rifles (AR) of 9 sector in an encounter killing. He claimed that it had happened in Waithou Chiru under the jurisdiction of Lilong Police Station in Thoubal district, and that a 9mm pistol had been recovered from the man after his death.
Gunindro has no history of involvement with the police, or a criminal record, according to his family, who belong to the lower class. He was the youngest of his siblings and a daily wager.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Extrajudicial killings by security personnel in alleged ‘encounters’ are frequent in the state of Manipur, where laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 guarantee the impunity of those who carry them out.
Since July 2003 the AHRC has denounced more than two dozen similar executions by security personnel, and their covering up as ‘encounters’. This case, like the others, follows a clear pattern: the victim is abducted by unidentified men and after some time security personnel inform the relatives of their death during an armed encounter, and claim that they recovered arms and ammunitions from the body. It has been observed that in almost none of these cases has an impartial inquiry been conducted, nor perpetrators been held accountable. This simply encourages similar executions to take place. Please see UAC-041-2010: An 18-year-old boy is abducted and murdered in Manipur and UAC-029-2010: Manipur police kill another in extra-judicial circumstances for a more detailed analysis of the extrajudicial executions trend in Manipur.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send letters to the authorities below expressing your concern in this case. The AHRC is also sending a letter to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions calling for an intervention.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
INDIA: A civilian was abducted and murdered by security forces in Manipur
Name of victim: Irengbam Gunindro, 30, Thoubal district, Manipur
Name of alleged perpetrators: 28 Assam Rifles (AR) of 9 Sector
Date of incident: 9 April 2010
Place of incident: General area of Waithou Chiru, Thoubal, Manipur
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the killing of Mr. Irengbam Gunindro. I am informed that Gunindro was witnessed being forcibly taken away by three or four unknown persons in a white Maruti car from Khamnam Road on 8 April 2010.
On 9 April 2010 Gunindro’s family met the local village head regarding his whereabouts, but the following inquiries at the local police station produced nothing: police officers denied any report of his arrest. Later in the afternoon a local journalist informed Gunindro’s family that a person had been found dead in an encounter and was being held at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Manipur (RIMS) morgue. The family went to the morgue and identified him there.
I know that the local community members formed a solidarity group called the Joint Action Committee (JAC) to respond to the killing of Mr. Gunindro, and held a sit-in protesting against the killing that same day. I am informed that the JAC also submitted a memorandum addressing to the Chief Minister of Manipur demanding a judicial enquiry into the incident.
On 10 April a local daily newspaper quoted the PRO Inspector General of the Assam Rifles (South), who stated that Gunindro was killed by 28 Assam Rifles (AR) of 9 sector in an encounter at the General area of Waithou Chiru under the Jurisdiction of Lilong Police Station in Thoubal District. The Inspector General further stated that they had recovered a 9mm pistol from the victim.
I am informed that Gunindro’s family belongs to the lower class, that he was the youngest among his siblings, a daily wager and had no criminal record or experience of arrest.
I am aware that extrajudicial executions of civilians by police or armed forces are common and occur regularly in Manipur, and that state perpetrators continue to protect themselves from judicial prosecutions by fabricating ‘encounter’ scenarios in which they were attackers. Evidence for such encounter is commonly fabricated.
I understand that the victim’s family has a right to know the truth about Gunindro’s death and to seek redress and I therefore request that you ensure that an impartial judicial inquiry will be promptly conducted. The statement of the witnesses must be recorded as soon as possible and adequate measures must be taken to protect the witnesses and the victim’s family from potential threats and intimidation. Moreover the family must be granted proportional compensation.
If enough evidence is gathered I further request that you make sure that the officers involved in the murder of Gunindro are prosecuted and punished according to the laws of the country.
Those are the steps that must be taken to tackle the climate of impunity in Manipur, which currently shelters human rights violators at the continued detriment of ordinary citizens.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Dr. P. Chidambaram
Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs
Griha Mantralaya Room
No. 104, North Block Central Secretariat
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2301 5750, 2309 3750, 2309 2763
E-mail: hm@nic.in
2. Mr. Okram Ibobi
Chief Minister & Home Minister of Manipur,
Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Babupara
Imphal 795001, Manipur
INDIA
Fax: + 91 385 2221817
Email: cmmani@man.nic.in
3. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23340016
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
4. Justice K. G. Balakrishnan
Chief Justice of India
Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 011
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23381508
5. Lt. General Mr. K. S. Yadava (PVSM,AVSM, SM, VSM)
Director General
Assam Rifles
HQ DGAR, Shillong
Meghalaya
INDIA
Tele/Fax: 91 364 2230146
Email: hqdgar@assamrifles.com
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
