Manipur HC Directs NIA To Submit Progress Report On November 2024 Killings

The Manipur High Court has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to submit a detailed progress report in connection with a serious incident that took place in November last year. This was during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Soram Tekendrajit against the Union of India and five others. The matter was heard by Chief Justice K. Somashekar and Justice Ahanth Hem Bikol Singh.

The case involves six individuals, including three minor children, and seeks action against the accused involved in an incident that occurred on November 11, 2024. An FIR had been filed the same day, but no charge sheet or progress report has been submitted by the NIA in over seven months.

Senior counsel Kh. Tarunkumar appeared on behalf of the petitioner, while W. Darakeshwor represented the NIA.

The court expressed concern over the delay, noting that despite the time elapsed, the investigating agency has failed to submit a report as required under Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The bench emphasized the seriousness of the matter and stated that failure to file a charge sheet would be viewed gravely.

Responding to the court’s directive, Mr. Darakeshwor requested a short extension to file a detailed progress report. The court accepted this request and ordered that the report be submitted before the concerned court of law.

The matter is now scheduled to be listed again on July 24, 2025.

On November 7, a Hmar woman was killed, and several houses were set on fire in Zairawn village by suspected Meitei militants. Her husband, in a police case, alleged that she was raped before she was killed and that their house was set on fire by the suspected militants.

Kuki civil society organisations have said the recent flare-up in Jiribam began after the “Meitei militants” attacked Zairawn village and killed the woman. They have also accused the Manipur government of remaining silent on the attack.

The Manipur cabinet, in a statement on November 16, however, said that “Kuki miscreants” burnt several houses and attacked the Borobekra police station in Jiribam district on October 19. This attack, and not the November 7 incident, led to the fresh cycle of violence, government sources have said.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis — a term given by the British in colonial times who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

Three Meitei women and three children, including a 10-month-old infant, were abducted on November 11 last year by suspected Kuki Hmar militants. Their bullet-riddled bodies were later recovered from the Barak River along the Manipur-Assam border on November 15. Two civilians were also killed, and several houses were burnt during the attack.

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