INDIA: Yet another murder of a young man by the Manipur State Police

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the case of Orsonjit, aged 19 years, who was illegally arrested and reportedly murdered by the Manipur Police Commando Unit. The police officers claimed that he was killed in an encounter and recovered a .32 caliber revolver with two live rounds and one mobile handset.

CASE DETAILS:

On 16 March 2010 at about 8:30am, Orsonjit went to get his scooter repaired. At about 10:20am Orsonjit’s mother called him on his mobile phone to return home for lunch. Orsonjit informed his mother that he was in the scooter workshop and could possibly return after the work is over.

At around 11:30am, one of the local boys informed Orsonjit’s family that a team of police commandos arrested Orsonjit at Mahatma Gandhi Avenue near the OK Hotel, Imphal. On receiving the information, Orsonjit’s family rushed to the Imphal Police Station and enquired about the arrest. The police officer on duty denied any report of arrest but recorded their concern as a complaint. Thereafter, the family members went to Porompat Police Station and then to the Manipur Police Commando Complex at Minuthong. But at all these places the officers informed the family that they had no information about the arrest. In the meanwhile the family tried to contact Orsonjit on his telephone, but their calls went unanswered.

In the evening, the ISTV News, a local cable news network in Manipur, reported, with pictures showing Orsonjit’s body, that he had been killed in an encounter with the police. Police officers who appeared in the news claimed that Orsonjit was killed in an armed encounter with the police at Taothong Apheibi, Imphal West. The police also said that they had recovered a .32 caliber revolver with two live rounds and a mobile handset from Orsonjit.

On the next day, Orsonjit’s family went to the mortuary at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at Lamphel and identified his body. The postmortem examination report states that Orsonjit’s left hand fingers and his right hand had suffered multiple anti-mortem fractures.

On 17 March 2010, members of the local public formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to protest the killing. They submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Manipur demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident; the prosecution of the officers involved in the killing based on an impartial investigation; and the video recording of the post mortem examination. Though the Chief Minister accepted the memorandum, the requests were not complied with.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The AHRC has been reporting similar cases from Manipur during the past four years. A short analysis of the situation in Manipur concerning extrajudicial executions is available along with a previous case reported by the AHRC. The information is available here.

Whether Orsonjit was killed in an armed encounter or not is for an independent investigation to decide. From experience and the pattern of extrajudicial executions reported from Manipur, the AHRC strongly suspects that this case too is a fabricated case posed by the state police after having Orsonjit arrested, tortured and shot dead.

It is widely believed that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in force in the state provides statutory impunity to state agencies to engage in human rights violations, including torture, disappearances, murder, rape and extortion. India has thus far ignored concerns and recommendations by United Nations human rights bodies calling for a review of the AFSPA. In 1997 the UN Human Rights Committee said “the continued use of the AFSPA in Manipur was tantamount to using emergency powers”. The Committee urged the government to install independent monitoring mechanisms in the state to avoid any misuse of the law by state agents. No such mechanism exists in the state even 12 years after the recommendation was made. Neither was there any follow-up at the UN to ensure that its recommendations are respected by India.

The government of India however constituted a Committee, the Jeevan Reddy Committee, to study the effects of the implementation of AFSPA in the state. The Committee has made its recommendations urging the government to withdraw the law as its implementation has only helped to fuel insurgent activities in the state. But the government has thus far chosen to ignore the recommendations. In addition to the report made by the government appointed Committee, there are similar reports and analysis made by human rights organisations and scholars regarding the issue. One such report is available here.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the authorities named below expressing your concern in this case. The AHRC is also sending a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions calling for an intervention in this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER