Manipur HC orders NIA to submit progress report on Jiribam killings

The Manipur High Court has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to submit a detailed progress report on the Jiribam killings, where six members of the Meitei community — three women and three children — were brutally killed by suspected Kuki-Hmar militants in November last year.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice K. Somasekhar and Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh issued the directive on Monday while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Soram Tekendrajit. The court expressed grave concern over the slow pace of the investigation and observed that the matter must be taken seriously if a chargesheet is not filed soon.

Referring to the incident that took place on November 11, 2024, the bench noted that an FIR was registered on the same day, but the investigating agency has so far failed to submit a report under Section 167 of the CrPC. “It has been more than seven months since the incident. If the chargesheet is not filed, the matter should be viewed seriously,” the court stated.

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The court has fixed July 24 as the next date of hearing and has directed the NIA to submit a comprehensive status report before that.

The incident, which shook the Jiribam district, involved the abduction of three women and three children, including a 10-month-old infant, from Borobekra area by suspected militants. Their bullet-riddled bodies were recovered four days later from the Barak river, near the Manipur-Assam border. Two other civilians were also killed in the attack, and several homes were torched, escalating tensions in the violence-hit region.

The NIA had taken over the case amid growing demands for a high-level probe and accountability. However, the perceived delay in investigation has triggered concerns among civil society and the legal community.

The High Court’s directive is being seen as a push to expedite justice in a case that has left a deep scar on the state’s communal harmony.