Imphal | March 29 : Justice PG Agarwal commission of Inquiry investigating into the death of a pregnant woman and a youth under suspicious “fake encounter” killing on July 23, 2009, at BT Road in Imphal, wherein State police department has been implicated, has concluded here Tuesday amid mixed feelings.
A full report on the findings of the commission will be handed over to the State government sometime in the 3rd week of April, confirmed Justice (retd.) PG Agarwal today.
The inquiry commission which was instituted on August 27, 2009, under section 3 of the commission of inquiry act 1953 has been investigating into the circumstances leading to the July 23 killing. On that fateful morning of July 23, 2009, Ch Sanjit, a former rebel cadet, and Th Rabina, a pregnant woman, were killed in an alleged fake encounter while five other passers-by sustained injuries.
The incident had stormed into public consciousness when mainstream media outfit Tahelka magazine published a sequence of photographs revealing the bogus claim of “encounter” by the police. The result was public upsurge!
On the concluding day of the commission hearing, senior advocate N Kumarjit Singh submitted a written argument on behalf of the police department.
“From the statement of witnesses and the report of Forensic Science Laboratory, it is very clear that there was an incident of firing between an armed youth and two commando personnel at BT road, Imphal on July 23, 2009, in the morning at about 10:30 am and in the cross firing, five persons sustained bullet injuries and a woman Rabina Devi was killed by a bullet in the cross fire and a youth namely Sajit Meitei was found dead inside the godown of Social Time Emporium situated at BT road,” said the written submission from the counsel of the police department.
Significantly, the sequence of photographs that appeared in Tehelka seems to point at a different story as against the claim of the police department according to which Sanjit was photographed by a local photographer while being led into a pharmacy by some police personnel before dragging him out dead.
The counsel of the police contradicted the authenticity of the photographs that appeared in Tehelka saying that a senior scientific officer and assistant chemical examiner to the government of India, CFSL, CBI, New Delhi, has confirmed that out of the 12 photographs, No. 1 to 6 were taken on July 23, 2009, at 11:47 am but photograph No. 7 was taken at the same time without mentioning the date. The expert has also been quoted as confirming that while photograph No. 8 was taken on December 23, 2008, rest of the photographs numbering from 9 to 12 were taken on July 23 at about 11:16 pm.
According to the submission of the counsel of the police, there are inconsistencies in the photographs that appeared in Tehelka.
“No tangible evidence has emerged in the enquiry to implicate any police personnel of any wrong doing in the unfortunate death of Rabina Devi and Ch Sanjit Meitei,” stated the written submission, while attesting that they both have died due to cross firing between Sanjit and the police commandos on the fateful morning of July 23, 2009.
A full report on the findings of the commission will be handed over to the State government sometime in the 3rd week of April, confirmed Justice (retd.) PG Agarwal today.
The inquiry commission which was instituted on August 27, 2009, under section 3 of the commission of inquiry act 1953 has been investigating into the circumstances leading to the July 23 killing. On that fateful morning of July 23, 2009, Ch Sanjit, a former rebel cadet, and Th Rabina, a pregnant woman, were killed in an alleged fake encounter while five other passers-by sustained injuries.
The incident had stormed into public consciousness when mainstream media outfit Tahelka magazine published a sequence of photographs revealing the bogus claim of “encounter” by the police. The result was public upsurge!
On the concluding day of the commission hearing, senior advocate N Kumarjit Singh submitted a written argument on behalf of the police department.
“From the statement of witnesses and the report of Forensic Science Laboratory, it is very clear that there was an incident of firing between an armed youth and two commando personnel at BT road, Imphal on July 23, 2009, in the morning at about 10:30 am and in the cross firing, five persons sustained bullet injuries and a woman Rabina Devi was killed by a bullet in the cross fire and a youth namely Sajit Meitei was found dead inside the godown of Social Time Emporium situated at BT road,” said the written submission from the counsel of the police department.
Significantly, the sequence of photographs that appeared in Tehelka seems to point at a different story as against the claim of the police department according to which Sanjit was photographed by a local photographer while being led into a pharmacy by some police personnel before dragging him out dead.
The counsel of the police contradicted the authenticity of the photographs that appeared in Tehelka saying that a senior scientific officer and assistant chemical examiner to the government of India, CFSL, CBI, New Delhi, has confirmed that out of the 12 photographs, No. 1 to 6 were taken on July 23, 2009, at 11:47 am but photograph No. 7 was taken at the same time without mentioning the date. The expert has also been quoted as confirming that while photograph No. 8 was taken on December 23, 2008, rest of the photographs numbering from 9 to 12 were taken on July 23 at about 11:16 pm.
According to the submission of the counsel of the police, there are inconsistencies in the photographs that appeared in Tehelka.
“No tangible evidence has emerged in the enquiry to implicate any police personnel of any wrong doing in the unfortunate death of Rabina Devi and Ch Sanjit Meitei,” stated the written submission, while attesting that they both have died due to cross firing between Sanjit and the police commandos on the fateful morning of July 23, 2009.
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