INDIA: An 18-year-old boy is abducted and murdered in Manipur

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the case of a teenage boy who was abducted by three unknown men and killed later. His corpse was identified in a mortuary by his neighbours when they went to identify the body of another person, killed in identical circumstances. Reports strongly suggest that the boy was abducted and killed by a combined team of officers from the Manipur state police and the Assam Rifles stationed in Manipur. 

CASE DETAILS: 

On 18 March 2010 Amujao, a bus conductor and cleaner, and Mr. Elangbam Jibon, a driver were on duty on a bus running between Wabgai and Imphal. At about 2pm they parked the bus at Andro bus station in Imphal near Konung Mamang and waited for their turn to go to Wabgai. 

According to our information three unknown men, suspected to be police officers, entered the bus and started talking to Amujao; they warned Jibon to stay in the bus after asking to see the vehicle’s documents. They dragged Amujao from the bus and took him away in a three-wheeler. At around 4pm Jibon told members of Amujao’s family, who tried and failed to contact him. 

The next day Amujao’s corpse was found by his neighbours, who were at the mortuary of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at Imphal to identify and receive another body, that of Mr. Chongtham Nanao. 

The circumstances of Nanao’s death has been reported by the AHRC in UAC-035-2010, and a combined team of Thoubal Police Commandos and 21 Assam Rifles (AR) are facing allegations of murder. 

Late that day the Assam Rifles informed Amujao’s family that they had killed Amujao in an armed encounter with the 28-Assam Rifles at a place called Kongba Irong (under the jurisdiction of Irilbung Police Station, Imphal East). The Assam Rifles also claim that they recovered arms and ammunition from the victim. 

It should be known that Amujao is from poor family and was its only earning member. In the past he had undergone six months imprisonment for a petty offense,  though there were no other cases registered against him at the time of his death. On 20 March people in his community formed a Joint Action Committee to protest against his illegal arrest and murder. They have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of the state demanding an investigation in the case and the prosecution of those involved. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

The AHRC has been reporting similar cases of extrajudicial executions from Manipur for a number of years, and has observed patterns in the violations taking place. Most victims are abducted by unidentified men immediately before their reported murder in an armed ‘encounter’. Often the police and/or the division of the paramilitary force involved in the case claim that they recovered arms and ammunition from the victim. 

Of the cases reported from Manipur, not one has been investigated so far by any independent agencies. Please be aware that although the National Human Rights Commission issued guidelines for police handling of cases of extrajudicial executions, found here, the state has not followed them. 

As evidenced in Amujao’s and Nanao’s cases the security forces breach all statutory requirements at the time of arrest in Manipur. According to the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), 1974, the arresting officer, whether he is in uniform or not, has to inform the arrested person who they are and why they are arresting the person. The officers also have a statutory responsibility to inform the immediate relative of the detainee, or a person of the detainee’s choice the place where the arrested person will be detained. At the time of arrest, at the choice of the arrested person, the officers must make available an independent person to search the body of the arresting officers and that of the detainee so that false claims regarding recovery of contraband articles does not arise. 

According to the information available to the AHRC, this procedure has not been followed in a single case in which the detainee has been later reported to be killed in an armed encounter. This not only negates the law, but is in contempt of the Indian Supreme Court’s orders as delivered in the D. K. Basu case, and later incorporated into the Cr.PC. So far, in spite of repeated efforts by civil society organisations in India, the Supreme Court has failed to take any action on cases reported to the Court that shows the clear violation of its own directives. 

The AHRC has commented on this consistent pattern of extrajudicial executions in Nanao’s case cited above. The comments are available here. The AHRC also has published a separate report concerning impunity in Manipur in its statemen entitled: The state of the republic is showcased in Manipur, and further comments on the issue can be read at: Democracy ‘Encountered’: Rights’ Violations in Manipur 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please send letters to the authorities named below expressing your concern in this case. 

The AHRC is also writing to the 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