IT Desk
Maybe because of the 10 days covid-19 pandemic curfew, or perhaps it is almost a decade, the infamous 2009, July 23 fake encounter where a pregnant mother of a three years old child, and another civilian Chungkham Sanjit was brutally murdered in broad daylight in the middle of Imphal city close to the Manipur Assembly secretariat, people of the state seems to have forgotten the barbaric killings. This year no memorial service of the duo has been observed nor any of the CSOs are paying tribute to the two innocent lives.
The very day, almost all journalists including common people have witnessed Thokchom Ongbi Rabina, who at that time was 7 months pregnant lying in a pool of blood with her 3 years old son crying by her side. The people witness another victim Chungkham Sanjit shot with several bullets. All had seen the two throwing up to a police van as if both are terrorists.
In the Assembly session, the then leader of the house had stated that Rabina was killed in cross-firing while Sanjit is a terrorist and was killed in an encounter.
It was after the news portal Tehelka exposed that the reality of how Sanjit was taken and killed in cold blood. During the police firing for reason best known to the authority, 5 persons were injured.
The atrocities met by the people those days are still haunting the people of today and justice still is not served to them except paying some compensation.
Earlier before that incident, there was death report every day due to encounters and as per Human Rights bodies over 1528 people were killed in staged encounters. Many are still waiting for justice.
Imphal Times still remembers all the events and appealed to the people of the state to not forget that dark times so as such a thing does not occur again. Team Imphal Times also would like to remind our fellow readers of the courage of our CSOs and Meira Paibi leaders who had courageously protested for justice of the victims to the staged encounter.