A Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army’s 3 Corps Intelligence Unit, Dharamvir Singh, has filed an affidavit in the High Court of Manipur alleging that an army team perpetrated extortion and killing of innocent people in the state, Indian Express reported. The affidavit is in connection with the Habeas Corpus petition filed by his wife Ranju Singh claiming her husband had been wrongfully detained.
The High Court has ordered the Army to file their counter affidavit before August 1. The affidavit alleges that on the morning of July 1, Singh was taken away from his quarters in Imphal by armed jawans led by Lieutenant Colonel Nanda and Major Rathore. He was kept under house arrest till the court directed his release five days later.
The Army has called the claims ‘baseless’ and said the officer was sent for posting. Currently, the Colonel is on leave staying with his family in Imphal. The affidavit also alleges that Singh became a victim of of an organised campaign by some senior officers who turned vindictive after he reported their wrongdoings.
On September 9, 2016, the affidavit said Singh wrote a complaint against the extortion and fake encounter killings of innocent boys from Manipur who were picked up from Dimapur in Nagaland and murdered in the nearby Rangapahar Cantonment.
Later on, he withdrew the letter after pressure from top and continuous assurances that the erring personnel would be dealt with. He has claimed a serious threat against his family in this regard.
The affidavit states three alleged fake encounters between 2010 and 2011 perpetrated by a single team of the 3 Corps Intelligence Unit. He has further sought the court’s permission to submit the 13 page official letter.
The affidavit alleges that on March 10, 2010, three Manipuri youth — identified as Phijam Naobi, RK Ronel and Th. Prem — were abducted from a rented house in Dimapur by 3 Corps Intelligence Unit and killed behind the Mess. As per media reports, bodies were found in the Lakhijan area under Bokajan police station in Karbi Anglong of Assam on March 17, 2010, it said.
Major T. Ravi Kiran was the first to write a letter o the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) on March 12, 2010, stating that three Manipur youths were abducted by the Army’s intelligence surveillance wing and shot dead after torture. A case is pending in Gauhati High Court.
The affidavit claimed in a similar incident ST Dominic College student Satish from Manipur and his friend were picked up from Shillong by the same team on February 5, 2010 and both were killed in the jungles of Masimpur. Satish’s parents lodged a formal missing complaint to DGP Manipur on February 23, but till now no efforts have been made.
On August 18, the affidavit alleged, PLA militant G Jiteshwar Sharma alias Gypsy and a friend were picked up from a rented room near SM College in Dimapur and killed. The bodies of both were buried behind the unit mess and few unit persons know the exact location, the affidavit claimed.
The affidavit also alleged that the same unit was behind the kidnapping of a woman and her child from Dimapur and released them after taking a ransom of Rs 1 crore from her family.
The local Army PRO said he was not authorized to comment as the matter was sub judice.
