That police cases take a road towards vagueness and then to public amnesia in the state is no secret. But it’s now official with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2012 report putting Manipur on the top spot with regard to pending criminal cases. Interestingly, the 2012 NCRB report lists 3 states from the north-eastern region in the top three position: Manipur with 86.7 per cent pending cases in the top slot, followed by Meghalaya with 78.4 per cent and Assam with 61.2 per cent. The total number of cases registered for investigation 17, 168; also included pending cases from previous years out of which Manipur Police dealt with 2274 cases. This is a dismal figure with over 14,893 cases remaining untouched but the poor show does not stop here for the report goes on to say that for 2012, Manipur Police submitted their final reports in only 2179 cases and only chargesheets for 95 cases. The figures emerging through the report is not a total surprise but is still disheartening. But what is more relevant is whether there is to be no accountability for the dismal show with regard to the functioning of the state police as evident from the report. In a sense, the public amnesia is also to be blamed for the ineffective police system prevalent in our society today for, apart from Joint Action Committees (JACs) showing their rage on the street, not many JAC members stay around to egg on the police process. In fact, some JACs also face the charge of acting as middlepersons for out of court settlements with money exchanging hands and sometimes, not even reaching the families or affected individuals. What must be noted here is that a lot more cases would have added to the statistics in the state record in the NCRB report if only more people are aware of their legal rights, have the backing, knowledge and confidence to file police complaints.
For the cases that do end up getting registered, the poor show with regard to police investigations have always been dismissed off with the take that counter insurgency operations take away the most time, resources and attention. But this argument cannot hold for long, considering emerging situations in the state conflict theatre: firstly, the Supreme Court appointed three member Inquiry Commission led by former Justice Hedge into six fake encounters have in their report to the Apex Court have said that all six cases were indeed fake encounters. The Commission came in following a PIL filed at the Apex Court alleging that there had been over 1500 cases of fake encounters in the state. Secondly, the slew of surrender programs of various armed groups to security forces on one hand and signing of agreements over peace talks with various groups on the other means that the police can now spare their attention to taking up criminal cases. Thirdly, the increasing number of police personnel in the state must surely result in proactive action on the ground.
That police procedures are not being given much importance in the state was clearly evident from the proceedings of the witness depositions of the Supreme Court instituted Inquiry Commission during its sittings in Imphal and New Delhi in March this year. There were glaring loop holes starting from the stage of evidence gathering, noting down evidences or even handing over forensic samples and their handling. It emerged that procedures of official supervision with regard to police investigations were also being taken lightly. For criminal cases that do not have anything to do with armed groups, and especially in matters relating to deaths and murders or with cases of violence resulting/not resulting in death, the lack of progress have been explained away with a ‘reports of tests awaited’. Yes, the lack of a state of art forensic laboratory with proper staffing has for too long been used as an excuse with none the wiser why funds allocated for police development are not being used to institute such a laboratory. The statistics highlighted in the NCRB 2012 report cannot be taken lightly for given the demographic profile of the state and its size, the sheer gap in action taken and compliant lodged is too huge to be ignored. The Civil society groups and the various NGOs also need some explanation to do here for they have not shown much pro-activeness in highlighting this aspect with regard to the police system in the state except for their sloganeering with calls for justice. They would need to do far more in terms of building awareness and also turn their attention on calling attention to how cases are merely being filed away and left to be forgotten.