A court in Thoubal district of Manipur has disposed of a case of alleged extrajudicial killing of a man by a police team in 2011, thanks to the delay in sanction of prosecution from the State government.
The family of the victim on Monday alleged that it was fighting the case despite coercions, including a lump sum being offered as “bribe” to withdraw the case.
Tampha, the wife of Angousana Athokpam of Bishnupur district who was arrested on February 27, 2011, by a Thoubal district police team and allegedly killed in a fake encounter, told reporters in Imphal that some stranger had come to her home last month and offered her “₹7 lakh for an out-of-court settlement”.
“I refused to accept the bribe and told the person that we only want befitting punishment to those personnel who killed my husband in a staged encounter,” she said at a press conference.
Tanoubi, Athokpam’s daughter, said the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thoubal, had disposed of her father’s case on Saturday saying it cannot proceed further as the Manipur government has not given the prosecution sanction. “Such prosecution sanctions had already been given in the Imphal East and Imphal West districts,” said Ms. Tanoubi.
SC-ordered case
She said her father’s “killing” was one of the 39 cases registered on the specific orders of the Supreme Court. The accused in nine such cases have already been chargesheeted.
The SC is looking into 1,528 alleged fake encounter cases in Manipur filed by Extrajudicial Execution Victims Families Association Manipur, a group seeking speedy trial in these cases.
There has been no explanation from the BJP-led State government as to why no prosecution sanction was issued in Athokpam’s case.
The EEVFAM activists are not happy with the court order in the case.
Renu Takhellambam, president, EEVFAM, said: “The judgment is not acceptable. How can a man be declared not guilty without a proper trial? People should appeal to the CM to issue the prosecution sanction so that the guilty are punished.”
