Imphal: The Manipur High Court has sharply questioned the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over the sluggish progress in its probe into the brutal killings of six Meitei community members in Jiribam district. In a significant directive issued on Monday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice K. Somasekhar and Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh ordered the NIA to submit a detailed progress report, expressing grave concern over the seven-month delay in filing a chargesheet for the heinous crime that occurred in November last year.
The court’s stern observation came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Soram Tekendrajit, highlighting the perceived lack of momentum in the investigation. The bench underscored that an FIR was registered on the very day of the incident, November 11, 2024, yet the investigating agency has failed to furnish a report under Section 167 of the CrPC, nor has a chargesheet been filed. The court unequivocally stated, “It has been more than seven months since the incident. If the chargesheet is not filed, the matter should be viewed seriously.”
The horrific incident, which sent shockwaves across Jiribam, involved the abduction of three women and three children, including a 10-month-old infant, from the Borobekra area by suspected Kuki-Hmar militants. Their bullet-riddled bodies were tragically discovered four days later in the Barak river, near the Manipur-Assam border. The attack also claimed the lives of two other civilians and resulted in the torching of several homes, exacerbating the already simmering tensions in the violence-stricken state. The NIA had taken over the case amidst widespread calls for a high-level probe and accountability, but the evident delay has triggered considerable apprehension among civil society groups and the legal fraternity. The High Court has now set July 24 as the next date of hearing, giving the NIA a clear deadline to submit a comprehensive status report. This directive is widely seen as a crucial push towards expediting justice for a case that has left an indelible mark on Manipur’s delicate communal fabric.