The Manipur High Court has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a charge sheet within one month in the case involving the brutal killing of three women and three children in Jiribam district in November 2023. The victims had been abducted during an attack on a security camp in the Borobekra area and were later found dead with bullet wounds.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice K. Somasekhar and Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh issued the directive on Thursday while hearing a public interest litigation concerning the delay in the investigation.
The court observed that despite the registration of an FIR, no charge sheet had been submitted till date. “Subsequent to recording of the FIR, law was set into motion but till today, no specific report has been submitted for filing of charge sheet against culprits/accused,” the bench noted.
The Centre’s counsel informed the court that the investigation was nearing completion and the process of filing the charge sheet was underway. Two sealed cover envelopes containing a detailed progress report on the investigation were submitted and taken on record.
“Keeping in view the status in this matter, one month’s time is granted for submitting the detailed report in terms of charge sheet under Section 173 of CrPC and corresponding provision of BNSS Act, 2023,” the court stated in its order. It further warned, “It is made clear that if there is no progress made, the matter would be viewed seriously.”
The next hearing has been scheduled for August 28.
The High Court had earlier, on July 9, instructed the NIA to file a detailed progress report. The gruesome incident occurred on November 11, 2023, when armed assailants attacked a security camp in Jiribam’s Borobekra area. Three women and three children, including a 10-month-old infant, were abducted during the attack. Two civilians were also killed. The bodies of the six abducted victims were found riddled with bullets in the Barak river near the Manipur-Assam border on November 15.
