The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Special Investigation Team of the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a supplementary first information report naming the officers involved in the alleged extrajudicial killings by the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and the police in Manipur, IANS reported.
The court has been hearing a petition seeking an inquiry into 1,528 cases of alleged fake encounters and extrajudicial killings in Manipur. In July 2017, the Supreme Court had set up the special team of five CBI officers to investigate the case.
While setting up the special investigation team, the Supreme Court had asked it to file FIRs in 81 cases. Of the lot, a Commission of Enquiry had looked into 32 cases, the High Court and judicial enquiries followed up on 32 cases, the National Human Rights Commission awarded compensation in 11, and a commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde investigated six cases.
The latest order came after advocate Menaka Guruswamy – the amicus curiae assisting the court in the case – pointed out that the 11 FIRs registered in March did not name any officer of the Army, Assam Rifles or the Manipur Police even though they were named in the report submitted by the judicial team investigating the case and in the findings of the Gauhati High Court.
The bench of justices Madan Lokur and UU Lalit questioned who the special investigation team would question in the case if it filed FIRs against “unknown personnel”. It also asked the National Human Rights Commission to assist with inquiries into more cases in this matter.
The court scheduled the next hearing for May 11.
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