Govt grants additional time to panel investigating Manipur violence to submit report

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday granted time till November 20 to a Commission of Inquiry to submit a report on its investigations into the series of violence in Manipur that has claimed more than 220 lives so far.

The commission, headed by former chief justice of 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 make inquiries with respect to the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur since May 3, 2023.

The Commission of Inquiry 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".

The fresh notification said, "The commission shall submit its report to the central government as soon as possible but not later than the 20th November, 2024." According to the terms of reference of the Commission of Inquiry, it would probe into the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence; whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities or individuals and adequacy of the administrative measures taken to prevent, and to 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 of the Union home ministry, large-scale violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, and, as a result, many residents of the state lost their lives and several others got seriously injured.

Their houses and properties were burnt down as a result of arson and many of them were rendered homeless, it had said.

The notification said the government of Manipur recommended on May 29, 2023, for 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 of Inquiry for the purpose of making an inquiry into a definite matter of public importance, namely, incidents of violence in Manipur, it had said.

Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence ever since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3 last year. The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

More than 220 people were killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between the Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and the adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.