Imphal, December 15 2008: Conceding to the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for carrying out prosecution proceeding against an officer of the State Police in connection with the case of the death of Tayeb Ali of Kairang, Imphal East in a fake encounter with 17 Assam Rifles, the Government of Manipur has given its sanction.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, an official source informed that the CBI asked the permission for prosecution sanction against the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case Abdul Latif for destroying evidences and not conducting the inquest properly.

Principal Secretary (Home) DS Poonia had issued on order on December 8 granting prosecution sanction to the CBI, the source added.

Abdul Latif is now the Assistant Commandant of 2nd MR.He was the OC of Kangpokpi Police Station when the incident of killing Tayeb Ali by personnel of 17 Assam Rifles during an alleged encounter took place at Motbung in Senapati district on July 25, 1999 .

Consequently, he was appointed as the IO of the case.

According to the source, although Tayeb Ali was killed during an alleged encounter which took place at around 11.20 am, but one Havildar Babulal Pradhan of 17 Assam Rifles reported the matter to the Kangpokpi Police Station only at around 4.05 pm.

After registering a case on the basis of the report submitted by the Assam Rifles, the IO submitted the final report of the case to CJM Senapati.

The report of the AR mentioned that on the day of the alleged encounter, some armed militants attacked a convoy of CRPF at Langjing at around 9.15 am and fled in a Maruti Gypsy along NH-39.Immediately, 17 Assam Rifles established a mobile check post at Motbung.

When the Maruti Gypsy in question approached, AR personnel tried to stop the vehicle, but the armed militants fired at the personnel who retaliated the firing and killed one militant.

The report also listed seizure of one US-made point 38 revolver and one empty cartridge from the site of the encounter with Havildar Asish Sinha and Rifleman Laksman as the eye witnesses.

But no public have been made witnesses of the incident though Captain Banafar of the 17 AR submitted a special situationational report to the 9 Sector Assam Rifles.

While the 17 Assam Rifles were stationing inside Kangla, their operational area were confined to Imphal, Keithelmanbi, Canchipur, Lilong, Singjamei and Chingmeirong.

So it has been establishe that the 17 AR personnel had carried out their operation beyond their operational area apart from the fact that police and executive magistrate were not informed about their operation, the source said.

The source further said that the IO of the case had not collected any blood stain from the site of the incident.

Though one photographer identified as Sh Rajen Rai had been called to take photographs of the dead body, the IO had not obtained the said photographs nor mentioned it in his report.

Only after the photographs were shown to the photographer thatthe deceased had been identified.

On the cause of the death, type of the weapon and the angle used, the source disclosed that a team of experts from the Ballistic Division of Central Forensic Science Laboratory, CBI and Department of Forensic and Toxicology, AIIMS concluded that three bullets have hit the body, two from back and one at the right upper arm and high velocity fire arms like SLR, AK-47 .

AK-56 have been used from a firing range of about 3.5 feet.

Moreover, contrary to the claim of the AR Motbung Police Station in-charge M Tomba, had stated that at around 1.30 pm of the day of the alleged encounter, 2/3 vehicles of the Assam Rifles had just crossed the barricade of the mobile check post when sound of gunfiring was heard, the source said.

It has also been alleged that at the time of identifying the victim, no scientific means have been adopted and the IO did not know where the body had been buried nor preserved the blood stain, cloths, and other evidences provided by the doctors.

Yet the IO had prepared a re-seizure memo of these items.

However, after the instructions had come from the side of the National Human Rights Commission, the IO had gone and shown the photograph of the deceased to the family members, the source added.

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