Manipur tribal bodies slam Assam Police for the death of 3 youths in 'fake encounter'

Several tribal organisations in Manipur on Thursday accused the Assam Police of “whimsically orchestrating extra-judicial killings of three youths” belonging to the Hmar tribal community on Wednesday.

According to officials in Assam, at least three suspected militants, belonging to Assam and Manipur, were killed while three police personnel were injured during an encounter in Cachar district on Wednesday.

The tribal bodies in Manipur have now demanded an impartial probe into the incident besides urging the National Human Rights Commission to take suo motu cognizance of the deaths.

Cachar's Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta said on Wednesday that the 'militants', belonging to a Hmar extremist outfit, were part of a larger group, which was reportedly planning to carry out "subversive activities" along the Assam-Manipur border areas.

Several tribal organisations in Manipur, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribals, Hmar Inpui, the apex body of the Hmar tribe, and the Hmar Students’ Association, among others, have separately condemned the “brutal custodial deaths” of Lallungawi Hmar, Lalbiekkung Hmar, both residents of southern Assam, and Joshua, a resident of Manipur's Pherzawl district, “by the Assam Police”.

The ITLF claimed in a statement that a video shot by the police clearly shows that the three victims were apprehended by Assam Police while they were traveling in an auto-rickshaw in Cachar district on Wednesday without using any force.

“The police also shot other videos which went viral on social media, showing the trio tied with ropes being taken to an undisclosed location in a forested area. Later, their bullet-riddled bodies turned up at the Silchar Medical College Hospital morgue. The police version of the event is full of inconsistencies,” the statement claimed.

It also said that in a bizarre twist, the three dead 'militants' (one of them seen wearing a bulletproof vest in pictures leaked from the morgue) turned out to be three youths who were already in police custody the previous evening.

“Such a glaring inconsistency clearly shows that the killings were extrajudicial. The policemen involved need to be tried in court for the murder of three Indian citizens,” the statement said.

It is also unfortunate that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma lauded the killings on social media, the ITLF said, as it demanded an impartial probe into the deaths to ensure justice.

The Cachar district police chief said on Wednesday that acting on a secret tip-off, a police team was rushed to the Krishnapur road area which arrested the three "militants” along with sophisticated weapons from near Ganganagar while they were going towards the Bhuban Hills in an autorickshaw.

An AK-47 rifle, a single-barrel rifle, and a pistol along with live ammunition were recovered from the trio, Mahatta told the media on Wednesday.

He also said that during interrogation, the "militants" disclosed that some of their cadres were hiding in a nearby forest in Bhuban Hills, planning to undertake subversive activities along the Assam-Manipur border.

Subsequently, a special operation was launched along with the Commandos on the Bhuban Hills side to apprehend the hiding militants based on the inputs provided by the three arrested extremists, who were also taken along, the officer said.

"When the security forces reached the hills, 6-7 extremists opened fire at them. The security personnel retaliated, leading to a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides," Mahatta said.

The accompanying trio, who were wearing bulletproof jackets and helmets, suffered grievous injuries in the encounter and were immediately taken to the Sonai Primary Health Centre and later shifted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where the doctors declared them dead, the SP said.