CJI Slams Manipur Govt For Not Giving Satisfactory Responses About Unnatural Deaths in Relief Camps
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 17) slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Manipur government and noted that it has not given satisfactory responses to the Justice Gita Mittal Committee about 25 unnatural deaths reported among internally displaced persons in relief camps across the state, reported The Hindu.
“This is very, very shocking. One of them involves sexual assault. The information sought by the committee was very serious,” said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant while addressing the state’s advocate general and additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who also represented the Manipur government.
The Justice Mittal Committee was appointed by the Supreme Court to monitoring the relief and rehabilitation provided to the victims of the ethnic violence in 2023.
The top court said that the Manipur chief secretary’s report on the action taken on these deaths must be comprehensive and must include the post-mortem details.
The court said the report should also list measures taken to ensure the safety and dignity of internally-displaced persons, who must be given easy access to daily facilities and medical care.
“Tell your chief secretary not to invite any problem,” CJI Kant told the state government’s lawyers.
The Supreme Court’s order on Thursday also referred to a report highlighting that 640 deaths have occurred in relief camps across eight districts in Manipur. Of these, post-mortem examinations were allegedly conducted in only 20 cases, and thereafter criminal cases were registered.
The top court asked for explanations on why post-mortems were conducted in only 20 cases and why only Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 was given as compensation in these cases.
The Wire had earlier reported that according to information disclosed by the Manipur home department under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, at least 731 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in relief camps and prefabricated housing across Manipur have died since ethnic violence erupted in the state in May 2023.
The district-wise data, compiled by the state Home Department from various district administrations, showed that the deaths occurred among displaced people sheltering in relief camps and prefabricated housing units set up after the outbreak of violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
According to the RTI reply, Churachandpur recorded the highest number of deaths at 248, followed by Bishnupur (151), Kangpokpi (128), Imphal West (94), Kakching (60), Imphal East (25), Jiribam (13), Thoubal (11) and Tengnoupal (one).
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