INDIA: Two persons shot dead in Manipur

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Human Rights Initiative (HRI), a human rights organisation based in Imphal, Manipur regarding the murder of two persons by the Manipur State Police Commando Unit. The HRI alleges that the victims were robbed and shot dead in a fake encounter by the commando unit. The commandos however claim that the deceased are cadres of the armed insurgent group operating in the state.

CASE DETAILS:

The victims, Mr. Waikom Kenedy and Mr. Thokchom Samarjit are friends. On 20 June, at about 10am, Kennedy and Samarjit left Kenedy’s home to go to the Human Resource Development Academy, an educational institution in Imphal West District, where Kenedy’s sister Kalpana was seeking admission. The friends were travelling in Kenedy’s vehicle.

Within about half-hour, Kenedy’s friend Mr. Premjit called Kenedy’s mother, informing her that he is waiting at the institute for Kenedy to arrive. Kenedy’s sister informed Premjit that once he meets her brother, to ask him to contact her to inform whether she had obtained admission at the Centre.

Anxious to know the result of her application, Kalpana started calling her brother’s telephone after about an hour. Kenedy did not answer the call. Since her brother did not answer the call, Kalpana called Samarjit’s number. He also did not answer the call. Since both Kenedy and Samarjit were not answering the calls, the family became concerned about them

Kenedy is a civil contractor who undertakes private and public construction work. Samarjit is a performing artist, who plays traditional Manipuri drum (Pung). The family was aware that Kenedy was wearing gold jewellery and was carrying 22,500 Indian rupees when he went out from the house. Due to the risk of abduction and even murder, carrying large sums of money and wearing gold ornaments in the public are considered risky in Manipur. During the past several years, many incidents were reported from the state where persons were abducted, injured or killed by criminal gangs as well as the police or paramilitary units to rob valuable belongings off the people.

At about 3pm, Kennedy’s father, Dhiren, being concerned of not knowing where his son was, contacted Imphal East and West District Police Stations. Dhiren is a police officer. His attempt was to know whether there was any accident, as the friends were travelling in a four-wheeler. Some time later, he was informed that there was an encounter killing reported from Mayang – Imphal area.

Coming to know about the incident, the father contacted his co-brother Mr. Brojen who is residing at Yumnam Huidrom, a place close to Mayang. Brojen was instructed to go to the place from where the incident was reported and to call back Dhiren to inform him what he found at the place. Soon Brojen contacted Kenedy’s father informing him that when he went to the place where the encounter shooting was reported from, he found Kenedy’s vehicle and two dead bodies inside. Brojen was however not allowed to go near the vehicle since the Manipur State Commando had quarantined the area.

Hearing the news, Dhiren once again called Kenedy’s telephone number. This time however, a person answered the call and said that his name is NK. Dhiren informed the person who answered the call that he is a police officer and that he was calling his son’s telephone number. Dhiren also informed the person that his son, Kenedy, had left home the same day morning to go to the Human Resource Development Centre to attend to his sister’s admission at the Centre. Hearing this, the person who answered the call asked what dress Kenedy was wearing.

Almost at the same time, some students at the Ruda High School informed Kenedy’s family that they saw Kenedy and his friend being driven away in Kenedy’s vehicle by persons who appeared to be wearing commando uniforms. A few other commandos were reportedly following Kenedy’s vehicle in another police vehicle. Soon the family was informed that Kenedy and his friend Samarjit were taken into custody by the Manipur State Commando Police and were later shot dead in an encounter in a place called Uchiwa Salam along the Mayai Lambi road under the jurisdiction of Mayang Imphal Police Station.

The police informed the family that they have recovered an AK-56 rifle from the dead men, two live magazines with 42 live rounds, a 9 MM pistol and a magazine with three live cartridges. The police also claimed that the vehicle in which the men were travelling was registered in the name of the wife of another person. The family however protested and claimed that the incident is a fake encounter, staged by the Manipur State Commando, and that Kenedy at the time of his departure was wearing a gold necklace weighing 80 grams priced about Rupees 1,60,000, two gold rings weighing 32.5 grams worth about Rupees 65,000 and Rupees 22,500 in cash. The family also claimed that Kenedy also had in his possession, the education certificates of his sister Kamala, a bank ATM card, and the admission card to the Human Resource Development Academy issued to Kamala and an application form from Kamala addressed to the Principal of the academy.

On the next day, a Joint Action Committee was constituted to protest against the killing. The family accused the state police that Kenedy and his friend Samarjit were murdered by the police and that the claim by the police that they were killed in an encounter is false. The Committee met the Chief Minister and demanded a judicial inquiry in the incident. When the Committee intensified their protest through public demonstrations, the Superintendent of Police, Imphal West district informed the family that the police had recovered three mobile telephones, three rings and a purse containing Rupees 900 in cash. The officer also admitted that the police had recovered documents concerning the admission to the Academy, as claimed earlier by Kenedy’s family.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Murder of innocent persons on mere suspicion or for robbing them is at an alarming increase in Manipur. It has become a practice for the security agencies operating in the state, particularly of the Assam Rifles, the Border Security Force and Manipur State Commando Unit, to search individuals and if the person is found possessing money or other valuables like gold ornaments, to take the person into illegal custody and later murder the person so that the officers could keep the person’s belongings.

After the murder, the paramilitary forces often claim that some weapons, arms or ammunitions were recovered from the suspects after the encounter. It is a story that has been repeated a few thousand times in Manipur during the past ten years. In this year, there have been more than 300 cases of extrajudicial execution reported from Manipur.

It is also a common practice in the state for persons to be taken into illegal custody, detained for days for questioning where use of torture is common and later taken out to be shot dead. A recent case issued by the AHRC from Manipur also tells the same story. Due to the overwhelming use of arbitrary force, including murder, the term ‘security forces’ has become a misnomer in the state. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 provides the statutory impunity to the state agencies operating in the state.

On 29 March 1997, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India issued a series of instructions to be followed by the government and the police in cases of encounter killings. The NHRC reviewed and revised its instructions in 2 December 2003.

Of several important instructions made by the NHRC, the following are the most important:
1. A Magisterial Inquiry must invariably be held in all cases of deaths, which occur in the course of police action;
2. The next of kin of the deceased must invariably be associated in such inquiry;
3. Whenever a specific complaint is made against the police alleging commission of a criminal act on their part, which makes out a cognizable case of culpable homicide, a First Information Report to this effect must be registered under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code. Such case shall invariably be investigated by State Central Branch Crime Investigation Department.

In this case, the Manipur state government has failed to comply with any of these instructions. Additionally, the state government has also not filed any regular reports to the NHRC as directed under the instructions issued by the NHRC.

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 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