annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Manipur
Thoubal district, injuring at least eight
innocent civilians, six of whom were
occupants of the jeep and two others were
bystanders. Five were teachers. Following
strong public protests, the state
Government suspended four State security
personnel in connection with the firing. 60
In police crackdowns on the
organisations spearheading the agitation
against the AFSPA, Manipur police
arrested 68 persons in Imphal between 15
August and 18 August 2004. Those
arrested included nine active members of
Apunba Lup and 17 members of United
Clubs of Manipur (UCM) including its
secretary in charge of information and
public relations, Joy Chingkham, and
Public Relation Officer, Nongthombam
Joykumar. 61 Manipur police arrested 17
persons from various areas of Imphal on
18-19 August 2004. The arrested persons
included two members of All Manipur
Students Union, four members of UCM
and 11 women activists who were
involved in the burning of the National
Flag on Independence Day. 62
On 26 August 2004, 18 school students
were arrested in front of the Raj Bhavan and
at the main gate of the Chief Minister’s
office in Imphal. They went there to
surrender their textbooks as part of a
statewide agitation for withdrawal of
AFSPA from the State. 63 Eight more
agitators were arrested on 27 August 2004. 64
On 29 August 2004, over 50 students
of three nursing institutes of Manipur were
arrested for trying to break through the
high security cordon of the Governor and
162
the Chief Minister to demand withdrawal
of AFSPA. 65
III. Violence against women
The extrajudicial execution of
Manorama Devi brought into focus the
violence against women. Manorama Devi
was arrested by the Assam Rifles
personnel on the intervening night of 10-
11 July 2004. Havildar (General Duty)
Suresh Kumar (No. 173355) of the 17th
Assam Rifles signed the arrest memo.
Rifleman T Lotha (No. 173916) and
Rifleman Ajit Singh (No. 173491) signed
as witnesses. The arrest memo stated that
Ms Manorama Devi was arrested as a
suspected member of the Peoples
Liberation Army and they recovered
nothing from her and that she was healthy
at the time of her arrest. 66 Her dead body
was recovered from Ngariyan Mapao
Maring village on the morning of 12 July
2004 with telltale signs of brutal torture. 67
Justice Upendra Commission as required
under normal law summoned the
concerned Assam Rifles personnel to
depose as mere witnesses since they had
signed the arrest warrant for Manorama.
But the Assam Rifles questioned the
jurisdiction of the Upendra Commission of
Inquiry on the ground that the State
government had not taken prior
permission from the Central government.
The Assam Rifles personnel later on
appeared before the Upendra Commission
which has submitted its report at the end of
the year but it has not been made public.
On 27 March 2004, a 14 -year-old