NEW DELHI, Jan 16 - The Supreme Court on Tuesday reprimanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not registering FIRs in the Manipur fake encounters� case, asking it to lodge 30 more FIRs on or before January 31.
The case had come to light after confessions by a head constable of the Manipur Police Thounaojam Herojit Singh. The apex court was particularly referring to 42 alleged fake encounter cases, alleged to have taken place between 2003 and 2009. Herojit, once considered an encounter specialist, had claimed that he witnessed a large number of fake encounters carried out in the state between 2003 and 2009. The apex court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to lodge 30 more FIRs on or before January 31 this year, after the SIT informed it that it has registered 12 FIRs till date.
While asking the CBI director to monitor the progress in the investigation, the Supreme Court bench, comprising justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit, posted the matter for further hearing on March 12.
After being suspended, Herojit, in January 2016, made a startling revelation that he gunned down reformed militant Chungkham Sanjit inside a pharmacy on BT Road in Imphal after being instructed by a senior officer.
A commission, comprising the former Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh and retired IPS officer AK Singh, was also constituted to investigate the extrajudicial killings in Manipur. The commission noted that there has been a rampant misuse of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA. This act has failed to tackle insurgency, the commission noted. Further, it also noted that encounters being carried out were not genuine.
