Bodies decry politicking over victims of fake encounters
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, February 23 2022:
Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families' Association Manipur (EEVFAM) and Human Rights Alert (HRA) have strongly condemned certain political parties and candidates contesting in the Assembly Election for using works of the organisations particularly the PIL Writ petition No.129 of 2012 pertaining to the extra judicial killing of 1528 civilians which is pending in the Supreme Court of India and the plight of the victim families for their own 'cheap' political propaganda and weaponization of human rights struggle for petty political gains.
A release jointly issued by EEVFAM president Renu Takhellambam and HRA executive director Babloo Loitongbam stated that even though BJP predominately highlighted the issue of Fake Encounter in the 'Chargesheet Against Congress' in the run up to the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly of 2017, the promise to investigate and punish the killers remains unfulfilled.
In the last five years of its rule the state government did not initiate a single criminal investigation on these cases, leave alone punishing them.
Even in the few investigations conducted by CBI/SIT on the direction of the Supreme Court, the Union Government denied prosecution sanctions against the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Union who are found to be involved in the killings of the innocent civilians, it said.
Despite the initial enthusiasm of the present government, the call for initiating a Transitional Justice Process by institution a Truth Commission to address the burning needs for victim families remain silent till date.
In fact all the efforts of the families to get some compensation under Section 357 A of CrPC remain frustrated as the State's Victim Compensation Scheme is not allocated sufficient find, said the release.
Moreover, EEVFAM and HRA also requested the upcoming government, irrespective or which party or coalition comes to power, to take the long sufferings of victims seriously and take up, as minimum, the following steps - to initiate prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations of the remaining cases of extrajudicial killings not yet investigated; to promptly grant prosecutions sanction under section 197 of CrPC and section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Power 1958 against the security personnel found to be involved in the killings; and to institute a Truth Commission in Manipur to bring out the whole truth behind the mass extra judicial execution and to identify the needs of the victims who have suffered untold miseries due to the unlawful act of the security forces.