| Outfit hands over accused after Hoho intervenes, string of protests in Manipur | ||
Imphal, May 31 : A member of the NSCN (I-M), accused in the murder of three Manipur government employees, was brought here for a court appearance by the CBI en route to New Delhi after the outfit handed him over to the investigating agency yesterday. Self-styled Lt Col Hopson Ningshen of the NSCN (I-M), charged with killing sub-divisional officer Thingnam Kishan and his two subordinates, Y. Token and A. Rajen, made a brief stopover in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Ukhrul, before he was flown out in a special aircraft. The double pressure — from the Centre and the Naga Hoho — forced the outfit to hand over the activist to the CBI. The NSCN (I-M) admitted the involvement of its cadres and announced on May 14 that its own court martial had found Ningshen guilty of “abduction, illegal detention and killing” of the three employees. He was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment, the outfit announced. The Hoho intervened after NSCN (I-M) refused to hand over the accused to government authorities which “stalled” the ongoing peace process. Cadres of the NSCN (I-M) abducted Kishan, who was posted at Kasom Khullen of Ukhrul district, along with five of his subordinate staff from Ukhrul on February 14. While three men belonging to the Naga community were freed, the abductors killed Kishan, Rajen and Token. Their mutilated bodies were recovered on February 17 in Senapati district. Elaborate security measures were taken at Tulihal airport in Imphal while the accused was being produced before chief judicial magistrate M. Manoj Kumar. The airport’s security room was turned into a court as the magistrate made himself available there. Armed CRPF and state police personnel stood guard at the airport. Authorities decided to complete the formalities inside the airport building itself considering “all security aspects”. The court remanded Ningshen in CBI custody for 15 days. Relatives of Kishan and leaders of an action committee formed against the employees’ killing also turned up at the airport. “Only handing over of the accused to the CBI will not do. We will continue to fight until the case comes to its logical conclusion — punishment of all those involved in the case. We also would like to know the motive behind the crime,” Y. Kapur, a convenor of the action committee, said. The killing sparked anuproar, forcing the Ibobi Singh government suspend Ukhrul deputy commissioner Pankaj Kumar and superintendent of police L. Dorjee for dereliction of duty. | ||
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CBI custody for NSCN ‘murderer’
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