Asked to pay 4 lakh as compensation
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, July 15 2010:
A division bench of the Gauhati High Court today ordered Assam Rifles authority to pay Rs 4 lakh as compensation for an unjustified killing of man within four
month period.
The order was passed by the division bench comprising Justice T Nandakumar and K Meruno, today while disposing of a writ petition filed by one Sagolshem Latani of Keirao Bitra Awang Leikai against the killing of her husband S Vikram (22) by personnel of 34 Assam Rifles on October 3, 2006 .
The order also directed the Assam Rifles authority to pay another amount of Rs 5000 as fee to the counsel for the Petitioner.
A statement of the Director of Human Rights Law Network, M Rakesh said that in the her petition, the petitioner contended that before her husband Vikram was killed, police arrested in 2004 on the charge that he was a member of the proscribed People Liberation Army (PLA).
After releasing from the jail, they married and stayed at the house of in-laws at Nongbrang village by working in quarry at Thoubal River for livelihood.
Further on October 3, 2006 at around 4 am Vikram was picked up from the house of her parental house by a team of 34 Assam Rifles stationed at Yairipok.
At the time of his arrest, the Assam Rifles personnel had not issued arrest Memo.
At the same time no incriminating articles were seized from his possession.
He was killed later by them after taken at the bank of Thoubal river, about 50 meter away from her house Latani on the north and charged the AR personnel of killing her husband in in a fake encounter stating that personnel of 34 Assam Rifles lodged a false report to the Yairipok Police Station alleging that Vikram was killed in an encounter and they recovered a pistol from his possession.
As act of Assam Rifles personnel amount to violation of Right to Life enshrined in the Articles 21 of the Constitution of India, the petition prayed the court for awarding befitting punishment to the errant Assam Rifles personnel and adequate compensation is paid to her.
In response to the petition, the court directed the District Session Judge, Manipur West to conduct an inquiry to ascertain the facts and circumstances leading to the death of S Vikram in which the inquiry report ascertaining that he was arrested from the house of his wife in the early morning of October 3, 2006 before killing.
The final hearing of the court based on the finding of the enquiry was conducted today in the court of Gauhati High Court.
The Court has directed the respondents, the Union of India, represented by the Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, the Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 57 Mountain Division, and the Commanding Officer, 34 Assam Rifles to pay Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 5,000 as fee to the counsel for the Petitioner as compensation within four months today, the statement added.