Imphal: Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh and security advisor to the state government Kuldiep Singh should bear the compensation to the inmates of Internally displaced persons (IDPs) for their losses and suffering in the recent violence in Jiribam district.
The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) made this recommendation on Friday in response to complaints in connection with the violence which included providing monetary relief to the (IDPs).
The compensation must be just, fair, and reasonable, considering the losses and suffering inflicted upon them, including women and children, the commission said.
This compensation should not come from the state exchequer. The DGP and the security advisor to the state government should pay the compensation for their failure to protect the human rights of the district’s residents, particularly the Meitei villagers in Lamtai Khunou, Loukoibung, Harinagar, Naryanpur, Bhutangkhal, and Leisabithol, despite communication and intimation from the secretary to the chief minister, and Jiribam district police, about the reported movement of approximately 200 armed Kuki-Zo militants and gunfire incidents on December 31, 2023, January 1, 2024, and January 21, 2024, it added.
The recommendation was issued in response to a complaint filed by former school principal Saikhom Kamala Kanta Singh, a resident of Itkhola Manipuri Para, Ward No. 3 of Silchar, and Fanjowbam Lokenath Singha of Karaikandi, Cachar, Assam. The complaint pertained to the death of Soibam Sharatkumar, a resident of Gulathol, Jiribam, and the displacement of Meiteis from Jiribam.
The MHRC also recommended that the state chief secretary, commissioner (Home), Government of Manipur, and deputy Ccmmissioner, Jiribam, secure all the land and belongings of the IDPs and ensure non-recurrence by deploying adequate permanent state security forces at Lamtai Khunou and other vulnerable areas in Jiribam.
The authorities were directed to pay Rs 10,000,00 as monetary relief to each household of the Meitei villagers in Lamtai Khunou, Loukoibung, Harinagar, Naryanpur, Bhutangkhal, and Leisabithol to help them rebuild their homes.
The commission directed the superintendent of police, Jiribam, to instruct the officer-in-charge of Jiribam Police station and Borobekra Police station, along with the investigation officers, to record the statements of all the IDPs and provide a status report on the investigation into the incidents.
The petitioners alleged that no public servant or authority responsible for failing to protect the lives of citizens or properly investigate the case that had been held accountable.
The complainants complained that the statements of the IDPs who witnessed the incident had not been recorded. ‘The statements of the wife and son of the deceased Sharatkumar, who was allegedly murdered after being abducted from his farm, were also not recorded, and the FIR registered in connection with his murder had not been provided to his family’.
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