CBI told to probe death of CRPF man in 2002
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 10 2023: After 21 years, the High Court of Manipur ordered CBI enquiry into the case of death of a CRPF constable inside the campus of 26 Bn CRPF at Heavy Fuel Power Project, Leimakhong.

The constable - Nishan Singh was only 21 years when he died inside the CRPF camp in a mysterious manner on November 19, 2002.During the hearing of the case, a bench of justices MV Muralidharan and A Guneswar Sharma observed that the incident was a sad one and senior officials of the battalion are accountable for death of the young constable.

Apart from observing that mother of the constable would be unbearable on learning demise of her young son in a mysterious manner, the court ruled that the case deems fit to be handed over to the CBI for investigation considering the facts and circumstances surrounding the case, the prevailing nature of law and past discussions.

Mother of the deceased constable approached the court alleging that senior officials of the battalion conspired to eliminate her son.

She also claimed that her son did not commit suicide but was killed by senior officials of the battalion in a pre-planned manner.

Initially, a single bench of the court dismissed the mother's plea but she strongly argued that investigation into the case by state police was unsatisfactory and the same by CRPF officials was biased.

She also alleged that important witnesses were not examined properly and there was no transparency in the investigation.

As per the appellant, a report of the investigation into the case carried out by the Punjab-based National Human Rights Council published on March 6, 2003 suggested roping in the service of CBI for investigation into the mysterious death of constable Nishan and copies of the report were submitted to different authorities including DG CRPF.

However, no action has been taken up till date, the appellant said.

After careful study and discussion of the case, the division bench observed that there were significant discrepancies in the investigations carried out in the case so far and an un-partisan investigation into the death of constable Nishan Singh is very much required.

In acknowledgement of non-stop efforts of a mother to get justice for her lost son since the year 2003 till date, and considering the fact that the police investigation was not satisfactory, the court ruled that investigation into the suspicious death of Nishan should be handed over to an independent agency so that the truth about the incident could be unearthed and guilty police officials, if any, punished.

Accordingly, the court ordered handing over of the case to the CBI.

Directing the Joint Director of CBI, Manipur, to investigate the case promptly and thoroughly, taking possession of all relevant records and documents the court further ordered that the investigation be completed within a period of three months.

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