High Court orders probe into killing of youth by Army

Imphal, July 20 (UNI) Gauhati High Court has directed the district judge of Manipur West to make an inquiry into the killing of Sagolshem Vikram Singh by the personnel of 34 Assam Rifles (AR) stationed at Yairipok.

Official sources here today said a division bench of the High Court comprising Justice T Nandakumar Singh and Justice Mutum Binoykumar Singh asked the district judge to submit her report within six months.

The court directed the parties to appear in the court of the district judge on August 6.

The order was issued yesterday on a petition filed by Mrs Sagolshem Ongbi Latani, wife of the deceased.

Sagolshem Vikram Singh was killed in what was officially described as an encounter on October 3, 2006, but his family alleged that he was shot in a fake encounter after being arrested by the personnel of 34 AR.

Mrs Latani also alleged that a team of 34 AR personnel had arrested Vikram Singh without any arrest warrant and no incriminating articles had been found in his possession.

Thereafter, the AR personnel allegedly lodged a false report at Yairipok police station, stating that Vikram was killed in an encounter and recovered a pistol from his possession, the wife stated.

''The very act of 34 AR personnel amounts to violation of Right to live enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution,'' Coordinator of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) Rakesh said.

''The case has been filed by Mrs Latani at the initiative of HRLN, Manipur, praying for punishment of the errant AR personnel and claiming adequate compensation under the public law domain,'' Mr Rakesh added.

UNI