The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Manipur government to submit in a sealed cover a report on the properties damaged, looted or encroached upon amid the ethnic conflict in the state, reported ANI.
A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar sought the names and addresses of the owners and occupants of the properties, according to Live Law.
“The report shall also indicate the steps taken by the state government to ensure that the persons who have trespassed are proceeded against as per law,” said the bench.
At least 258 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the ethnic conflict broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars communities in Manipur in May 2023. There was an uptick in violence in the state in November, with at least 22 persons having been killed since November 7.
In February, Chief Minister N Biren Singh told the Assembly that 13,264 structures had been destroyed during the ethnic violence.
The Supreme Court took cognisance of the violence in July last year after a video of two Kuki women being paraded naked and assaulted by a mob of Meitei men surfaced and led to nationwide outrage.
The top court had ordered the formation of a committee of three former women High Court judges to inquire the nature of violence against women in Manipur since the ethnic clashes broke out. It also appointed Dattatray Padsalgikar, former director general of police in Maharashtra, to supervise the special investigative teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation formed to probe these cases.
The court has scheduled the next hearing in the case in the week commencing January 20.
Also read: Interview: ‘In Manipur, rational voices on both sides are being silenced’
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!