Imphal: The Manipur High Court has expressed serious concern over the slow progress of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) probe into the abduction and killing of six women and children from the Meitei community in Jiribam district last November.
The court has directed the NIA to submit a detailed progress report by July 24, emphasizing the gravity of the situation if a chargesheet has not yet been filed.
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The directive came from a Bench of Chief Justice K. Somashekar and Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Uripok Apunba Lup, a collective of local clubs.
The petitioners are seeking a speedy and time-bound investigation, the arrest of those involved, and detailed case records.
“It has been almost seven months since the incident, and no progress report is submitted by the NIA,” the court observed in its July 7 order.
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The court also noted that the NIA’s advocate had requested more time to provide a detailed progress report, specifically “in terms of the chargesheet.”
The incident in Jiribam, which saw a flare-up in ethnic conflict, led the NIA to take over two other significant cases in addition to the killings of the Meitei women and children.
These include the alleged rape and burning alive of Zosangkim, a 31-year-old Kuki-Zo woman, on November 7, and an attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post on November 11, where 10 armed militants were killed.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had previously filed an affidavit stating that the Jiribam cases were a matter of “law and order” and thus fell under the jurisdiction of the State government, despite the NIA, a central agency, having taken over the investigations.
This statement came before Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation, which led to Manipur being placed under the President’s Rule.