Imphal, July 21: UK based Newspaper, The Guardian in its news report today terms Head Constable of Manipur Police Thounaojam Herojit “as one of India’s most deadly policemen – killing more than hundred people. However, the news story that is filed by Delhi based journalist Raghu Karnad and Manipur based journalist Grace Jajo under the heading ‘Confession of a Policemen’ narrated in-depth story of how the young police personal become a notorious killer and how he has been used by the so called superior official in their mission and also how the killer decided to change his life.
Interesting part that is being revealed in the news story is about how a well reputed, highly qualified IPS officer, who later becomes the Director General of Police for Manipur, Y. Joykumar utilized his power misusing the law of the land.
In the write up, the then DGP Yumnam Joykumar is reported as saying that “staged encounter” as an option to convict any terrorist.
“The judiciary, with its insistence on “the benefit of the doubt”, was another impediment to putting suspected militants away, Joykumar insisted. “We never had a chance of convicting any terrorist.” But there was another option: the staged encounter”, the report read.
In Manipur, “the reputation of the police was for abject surrender, giving away its weapons,” Joykumar said when we met at his home this April. Insurgents bombed military convoys and assassinated officials, raided police stations and bought off legislators. Manipur had been reduced to a garrison state, its people and economy stifled by nightly curfew, highway blockades and militant “taxation” – extortion from local residents and businesses. “The police had forgotten that they could fight back.”
The report clearly indicate that most of the so called encountered as reported which ended lives of many youths are almost all staged encounter.
Co-incidentally the report appeared today in the Internationally renowned newspaper few days after the Supreme Court of India has announced its verdict to re-open investigation over the alleged extra-judicial killing of over 1500 people in the state.
The news story encircled its report to the infamous July 23, 2009, BT Road incident at which an ex-cadre was killed in cold blooded by Head Constable Herojit. It once more reproduced Herojit’s confessional statement at which he had told media that he shot dead Sanjit as according to an order of the then Additional SP, AK Jhalajit.
Dr. AK Jhalajit, now SP of Imphal West had categorically stated the allegation as false and malicious. A case is pending in the court of law.
