3 years on, SIT probe complete in just 10% of Manipur riot cases
NEW DELHI: More than three years after Kuki-Meitei ethnic clashes singed Manipur and claimed 260 lives, Supreme Court was informed Friday that probes into only
NEW DELHI: More than three years after Kuki-Meitei ethnic clashes singed Manipur and claimed 260 lives, Supreme Court was informed Friday that probes into only 10% of the 3,000-odd cases had been completed by SITs of state police while CBI had investigated the majority of the 31 cases referred to it.Appearing for the CBI, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that the central probe agency had filed chargesheets in 21 cases and closure reports in six, of which three had been accepted.
It was continuing investigations into the remaining four cases. Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was appointed to oversee the investigations, informed the court through a report that of the 3,020 cases being probed by the SITs across eight districts, chargesheets had been filed in only 301 cases and trial had commenced in 10.The -led bench told the investigators to act expeditiously. Given the volume of cases, SC mulled setting up special courts to try these exclusively. It sought responses to this from Manipur govt and the high courts of Assam and Manipur.SC had transferred investigations into cases of rape-murder other heinous offence to CBI and shifted their trial to Guwahati.
The central agency told the court that examination of witnesses residing in Manipur through video-conferencing was a challenge because of law-and-order situations, non-cooperation and language barriers as they spoke different dialects.Senior advocate Ngangom Junior Luwang complained that no effort had been made to trace 30 missing people and without their remains, authorities were not issuing death certificates required for other purposes. SC asked him to approach Manipur high court.Advocate Sharukh Alam submitted that land belonging to churches vandalised during the clashes were getting encroached upon and said govt had taken no steps to reconstruct them.
Bhati said govt's priority was to reconstruct damaged dwelling units. The bench said govt was right to prioritise reconstructing houses but asked it to take steps to stop encroachment of places of worship.
The BriefWire