Govt gives another extension to 3-member panel probing Manipur violence

PTI, NEW DELHI, DEC 4, 2024 : The Centre has given another extension till May 20, 2025, to a Commission of Inquiry to submit its report on the investigations into the series of violence in Manipur that has claimed at least 258 lives so far. The Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba, was set up on June 4, 2023. The panel, also comprising retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar, was mandated to inquire into the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which began in Manipur on May 3, 2023.

The commission was supposed to submit its report to the central government "as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting," according to the notification issued on June 4, 2023. In its last extension, the Ministry of Home Affairs had given the commission time till November 20 to submit its report. According to the fresh notification issued by the MHA, "The commission shall submit its report to the central government as soon as possible but not later than the 20th May, 2025."

According to the terms of reference of the Commission of Inquiry, it would probe the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to, such violence. The panel would also find out whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty on the part of any of the responsible authorities or individuals and assess the adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent and deal with the violence and riots. The inquiry by the commission shall look into the complaints or allegations that may be made before it by any individual or association.

According to the June 4, 2023, notification from the home ministry, large-scale violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, and as a result of the violence, many residents of the state lost their lives, and several others got seriously injured. Their houses and properties were burned down due to arson, and many of them were rendered homeless, the notification said.

The notification added that the government of Manipur recommended on May 29, 2023, the institution of a Judicial Inquiry Commission to look into the causes and associated factors of the crisis and the unfortunate incidents that happened on May 3, 2023, and afterwards under the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.

On the recommendation of the government of Manipur, the central government is of the opinion that it is necessary to appoint a commission to inquire into a definite matter of public importance, namely, incidents of violence in Manipur, the notification said. Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence ever since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3. The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organized in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. At least 258 people have been killed, and thousands have been rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.