EEVFAM seeks prosecution sanction
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 11 2024: The Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association Manipur (EEVFAM) has urged the Government of India to grant prosecution sanction against security personnel involved in fake encounters so that the security personnel cannot be put on trial.

The 15th foundation day of EEVFAM was observed today on the theme 'Stop militarisation and ethnic polarisation in Manipur' at Manipur Press Club here.

Speaking at the gathering, EEVFAM president Renu Takhellambam said that EEVFAM was formed by widows and mothers whose husbands/sons had been killed by security forces in fake encounters.

Both State forces and Central forces were involved in cases of fake encounter killings perpetrated under the shadow of AFSPA.

Saying that no trial has been initiated against the Central security personnel involved in such fake encounter killings, Renu urged the Government to grant prosecution sanction so that accused Central security personnel can be put on trial.

For quite a long time, the people of Manipur were reeling under extreme repression committed with the impunity guaranteed by AFSPA.

"If military operations are carried out now in the name of containing the protracted violence, we fear fresh fake encounter cases targeting the youth who took up arms to protect their villages and the integrity of Manipur", she said.

She urged the Government to resolve the crisis at the earliest and ensure that Manipur does not see any unnatural growth in the number of widows and mothers who have lost their sons.

Giving key-note address of the function, EEVFAM secretary Edina Yaikhom said that Manipur witnessed countless numbers of atrocity by both Central and State forces, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, rapes and murders committed by Central and State forces under the shadow of AFSPA during the last 70 years.

EEVFAM was set up by families of these victims on July 11, 2009, she said.

When EEVFAM launched an investigation into these cases, FIRs were found registered at police stations against the victims but no FIR was found registered against the security personnel who killed the victims.

Even as the victim families appealed to police to register FIRs and establish the facts surrounding the cases of fake encounter killings and other extrajudicial activities committed by security forces, police rejected the appeal, Edina said.

In its struggle to deliver justice to all the victims, EEVFAM went to the Supreme Court in 2012 and submitted a list of the victims of extrajudicial killings perpetrated by security forces from May 1979 to May 2012 .

On the instruction of the apex Court to gather more details of these cases, EEVFAM opened an office at Cheirap Court and collected reports from the families of those people killed with impunity guaranteed by AFSPA.

Subsequently, a list of 1500 cases of extrajudicial killings was compiled and the same was submitted to the Supreme Court, Edina said.

The Court passed an order on January 4, 2013 for establishment of a SIT to investigate six cases against which judicial enquiries had already been completed.

After investigation, it was established that all the six cases were fake encounters and all the six victims were not involved in any criminal case, she said.

On July 14, 2017, the Supreme Court picked up 39 other cases and due investigation was launched.

These 39 cases involved combined teams of Central and State forces.

No time was wasted in putting the State security personnel on trial as prosecution sanction was granted promptly.

But EEVFAM's efforts to bring the Central security personnel to docks has been taking a long time as the Central Government has not been granting the necessary prosecution sanction against them, Edina said.

She said that her husband was tortured mercilessly before he was put to death by pumping in as many as 21 bullets.

She said that her husband was picked up by a team of security forces who came in two Gypsys from DM College campus on January 21, 2009 .

"For the last 15 years, I have been living with this painful memory and trauma.

There are many widows like me, parents who have lost their sons and children who have lost their parents to extrajudicial killings", she said.

Let there be no more such extrajudicial killings; let there be no unnatural growth in the number of widows and let justice be delivered to all the victims, Edina said.

Christof Heyns, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions visited India, EEVFAM made all efforts to bring him to Manipur but the Government of India did not allow him to visit Manipur, she said.

Nonetheless, EEVFAM representatives met with Christof Heyns at Guwahati, she added.

AMKIL advisor Anandi Khangembam, DMU Associate Professor Dr Noni Arambam, Sanoi College, Nambol Assistant Professor Ningombam Shreema and MU Assistant Professor Dr Sapam Dilip too spoke at the gathering.

Acknowledging their contributions in the sustained efforts to deliver justice to the victims of extrajudicial judicial executions, advocates Ningthoukhongjam Subashchandra, Okram Kiranjit, Okram Nutankumar and Basanta Wareppa were feted with humble gifts on the 15th foundation day of EEVFAM.

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