Status quo on Manipur cops

Imphal, Sep 11 : Manipur police are yet to take action against the nine policemen named in the CBI chargesheet on the July 23, 2009, firing submitted yesterday in an Imphal court.

The court had issued warrants immediately after the CBI submitted the chargesheet yesterday.

A pregnant woman, Rabina Devi, and a former militant Ch. Sanjit was killed and five others were injured in the alleged fake encounter by commandos on Bir Tikendrajit Road in the heart of Imphal city.

The CBI in its chargesheet submitted to the court of chief judicial magistrate, Imphal, yesterday named nine policemen, including then officer-in-charge of Imphal city police station, Yumnam Munal.

The report charged that unarmed Sanjit was picked up by the police and taken inside a store and shot dead.

“We will act and do the needful when we receive directives from the court,” the director-general of police, Yumnam Joykumar Singh, told The Telegraph today.

While issuing the warrant, the court asked the police authorities to produce the nine accused policemen named in the CBI report before the court on September 27.

The CBI conducted the inquiry following a directive of the Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court after Sanjit’s mother filed an appeal for a probe into the firing.

The CBI booked some of the personnel under various sections of IPC concerning murder and other personnel for giving false information and framing false report to protect some persons.

The investigation agency examined 250 witnesses and gathered 125 documents.

In a related development, the court of district and session judge, Manipur East, today did not take up a joint bail application moved by 14 police personnel yesterday in the same case.

A source said 14 policemen yesterday had applied for bail in the court of district and sessions judge, Manipur anticipating that the CBI would submit a chargesheet and they could be arrested.

The court fixed today as the date for the hearing of the bail applications.

As the court began its proceedings today, the counsel of the 14 policemen told the court that the applicants would not press the bail application further, maintaining that the CBI had already named nine of the 14 as accused in the chargesheet.

After the counsel’s submission, the court did not take up the application.