IT News
Imphal, Aug 27:
State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has pulled up all the District authorities regarding the alleged negligence death of two Myanmarese in custody. A team of SHRC led by the acting chairperson Khaidem Mani visited the Myanmarese inmates in Churachanpur on August 26, 2021, and conducted a hearing on the alleged custodial death of two Myanmar nationals namely Ms. Ma Myint and Ms. Mukhai. District administration, law and order department and health officers were summoned to the Commission’s hearing and were represented by the Additional Deputy Commissioner(ADC), the Sub-Divisional Police Officer(SDPO) and the Chief Medical Officer(CMO) respectively. It was also attended by the petitioners led by Babloo Loitongbam, executive director, Human Rights Alert along with other lawyers. After a detail hearing of both parties the Commission has asked the district authorities to submit the magistrate report immediately.
On 2nd July, 2021, Human Rights Alert(HRA) following their enquiry, had filed a complaint to the SHRC alleging the custodial death of two Myanmar ladies and violation of right to food and right to health of the surviving 27 Myanmar nationals in judicial custody at Saadbhavana Mandop, New Lamka, Churachandpur District. HRA had termed it as a very serious matter of human rights violation to deny these basic rights to people in official custody.
According to the petition, on 31.03.2021 the Churachandpur police arrested 29 Myanmar nations, including six minors, staying without proper documents from Ngathal and Kawnpui villages of Churachandpur and a First Information Report (FIR) no 38 (03)2021 CCP.PS under section 14 of Foreigners Act was registered against them.
They were then produced before the Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, Churachandpur and recorded as “crossed over the border due to threat and fear of persecution as a result of the military coup and that their life have been endanger as such (sic) escape and crossed the border without any valid documents and papers”. They were then remanded to police custody till 07.04.2021. Government of Manipur then declared the Saadbhavana Mandop Centre as a temporary prison under Prison Act, 1984 vide its order No:6/1(1)/2021-H(DC) dated 01.04.2021. The 29 accused after producing before the Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, Churachandpur on 07.04.2021, were remanded to judicial custody and kept at the Centre till date.
The petition also mentioned that by the end of May and beginning of June many of the inmates of the Centre felt sick, yet their request for medical help felt on deaf ears until 5 June. Later nine of them were found to be COVID positive and two of them were in critical condition and were immediately admitted to District Hospital (Covid Isolation Ward). Ms. Ma Myint daughter of Usan aged about 46 years died on 6 June 2021 and two days later, on 8 June Ms. Mukhai daughter of Nita aged about 40 years also succumbed in the same hospital.
HRA has alleged that the death of Ms. Ma Myint and Ms. Mukhai occurred after they arrested and kept in the custody of the state for almost three months. During this period in custody, the inmates were not provided food by the state and depended solely on the charity of civil society organisations. In doing so they were deprived of their right to adequate nutritious food. Moreover, they were also deprived of the mandatory medical attention they deserve as any other prisoner. Even when they fall sick and were desperately seeking help, the authorities failed to respond promptly. Such systematic deprivation of the right to food and right to health in state custody during the pandemic, ultimately causing the two deaths amounts to custodial violence since it violates the Right to Life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India available to “all persons” including the “non-citizens”.
HRA, had hence urged the Commission to ensure that the inmates of the Centre is provided with adequate nutritious food as well as regular medical attention as per the standard norms of any prison/designated prison without any discrimination, ensure that the NHRC Guideline on Custodial Death is strictly adhered to while dealing with this case – including the mandatory reporting to the Secretary, NHRC as well as ordering a Magisterial Inquiry into the incident by a Judicial Magistrate and asked the Government of Manipur to grant an interim compensation of at least rupee twenty lakhs (Rs. 20,00,000/-) each to the next-of-kin of two decease Ms. Ma Myint and Ms. Mukhai.
