The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI submitted a chargesheet against four Manipur state police personnel and one Assam Rifle personnel who was a former company commander in connection with an alleged fake encounter that took place at Imphal East district in 2009.
The charge sheet was submitted on December 24 with a prayer to take cognisance against the accused and time for a supplementary charge sheet.
The four personnel, who were attached to CDO Thoubal, are former jamedar of 7th Manipur Rifles Hollal Haokip; former rifleman of 1st MR Sialloa Sumilianthang; former rifleman of 1st MR Shawaijam Naba; former rifleman of fourth IRB Mangthilal Vaiphei while the Assam Rifle personnel has been identified as former captain cum company commander of 23 AR Kaushalendra Singh.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West on Friday took cognisance against the accused and directed the investigating officer of the case to submit the supplementary charge sheet against the accused Kaushalendra Singh on February 21, 2022. The court further directed four accused persons to appear in the next hearing.
The Police personnel were charged under section 120-B read with 302, 201, 34 IPC. As for the AR personnel, the prosecution sanctioned from the competent authority under section is still awaiting.
As per police FIR, a bailout cadre belonging to KYKL was killed by a joint team of Thoubal Commando and a column of 23 Assam Rifles in crossfire at Seijang village under Lamlai Police Station of Imphal East district at around 4.15 am on May 5, 2009.
The Police claimed recovery of a .32 revolver loaded with four live rounds of ammunition from the slain man whose identity was established later in the day.
The deceased was identified as one Chongtham Umakanta alias Manaoton ,24, son of Gunamani of Iroishemba Mamang Leikai in Imphal West district.
The SIT based on the investigation report, submitted the chargesheet, stating that the team of Commando Thoubal and 28 AR cooked up a false story to screen the offenders. It stated that the Commando team went beyond jurisdiction for the encounter, and that too without any permission of any information to their supervisory officer.
Captain Kaushalendra had his base at Yeigangpokpi COB, which falls under Imphal East and he had taken along the Thoubal CDO instead of taking the team of CDO Imphal East for conducting the joint operation in the area of Imphal East, the SIT stated.
The investigation charge sheet also stated that the mentioned bullet injuries on the body of the deceased do not correlate with explained direction and position of the fire by the encounter team, hence an inconsistency is found.
It is also mentioned that in 2013, Justice Santosh Hegde Commission stated that the incident in which Umakanta died compelled the commission to come to the conclusion that though the manner in which he was picked up, as stated by the complainant in the FIR, cannot be accepted, and the manner in which he died definitely indicates that it could not have been an encounter.
The Commission stated that Umakanta was killed in an encounter or in self-defense cannot be accepted.
It was stated that the fact and circumstances and evidence further established that the team entered into a criminal conspiracy and killed Chongtham Umakanta with a common intention in a fake encounter and cooked up a false story to shield the offenders.
