The ghost of July 23, 2009 : Now deliver justice
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 28 2016 -

The ghost of July 23, 2009 has come back. And rightly so.

As per the admission of Head Constable Thounaojam Herojit, Chungkham Sanjit was shot dead in a fake encounter and not in an encounter under the alleged direct instruction of the then Additional SP Dr AK Jhalajit who is now the SP of Imphal West police.

Something which was given in black and white by Tehelka when it published the damning photos of Sanjit being taken to Maimu pharmacy only to be later brought out as a corpse.

The final report of the CBI which probed the case had also submitted in its report to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal that Thounaojam Herojit shot dead Sanjit.

This is not a trial by the media but just reflecting on what the Head Constable has had to say and clearly this will sit heavily on the State Government.

With the Extra-Judicial Execution Victims’ Families Association, Manipur approaching the Supreme Court of India and now coupled with this latest admission from a policeman, the heat must be on the State Government and while the last word is yet to be said, the admission of the Head Constable will certainly go a long way in giving more credence to the damning photos carried by Tehelka more than six years back.

If what Herojit said is true then heads should roll for the killing was carried out under the alleged instructions of a senior officer.

What the Head Constable has had to say also implicates the offices of the Chief Minister and the DGP as well and this says something on how the State has been allegedly endorsing fake encounters.

Disturbing and totally unacceptable.

It remains to be seen how the Centre will respond to the new development but this is not the time to pussy foot the matter but ensure that responsibilities are fixed.

Muscle power is not the language that the State Government should be using and it has been using this language for too long, all under the pretext of upholding the rule of law.

Sanjit cannot be brought back to life but a lesson should be drawn from the July 23 BT Road incident of 2009.

This is not the time to shield killers but to get down to the business of running the Government and the first step towards this should be to cleanse its stables.

Time to crack the whip and send out the message that no one has the right to snuff out the life of anyone.

This is particularly more so when one is donning the uniform of a policeman or a soldier.