IMPHAL, Jan 31: The trial of NSCN-IM cadre Hopson Ningshen, who is presently detained in Tihar Jail in connection with the multiple murders of Dr. Thingnam Kishan, Y. Token and A. Rajen, commenced today in the court of Special Judge OP Saini in Patiala House, New Delhi.
A release of the JAC against the brutal killing of Dr. Th. Kishan, Y. Token and A. Rajen said that senior public prosecutor of CBI, AK Singh appeared on behalf of CBI, whereas advocate Pancholi appeared for the accused Hopson Ningshen as defense counsel.
In his argument, defense counsel stated that Hopson had ordered the arrest of (late) Dr. Kishan with the intention to collect the misappropriated fund. The news of death of Dr. Kishan and his subordinates had taken the NSCN-IM cadre aback.
The defense counsel further submitted that NSCN-IM has not been declared a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Hence, detention of Hopson Ningshen is unlawful. Advocate Pancholi concluded that considering lack of common intension, Hopson could not be accused of masterminding the conspiracy of murder.
The judge pointed out that copies of the chargesheet were made available to the accused well before the commencement of the trial. However, submission as narrated by the defense counsel has not been made available to the court as document anytime earlier. At this the defense counsel asked for forgiveness for the lapse.
Senior public prosecutor AK Singh put forward to the court that NSCN-IM does not have any right to collect misappropriated fund nor arrest any government servant. The present case has been meticulously built up not on the basis of the accused person’s ‘so called retracted confession’ but on the ‘circumstantial evidence and witness account’.
He further asserted that the charge of misappropriation of fund against (late) Dr. Th. Kishan has been conclusively proved false by the statements given by the witnesses.
The next hearing of the case has been fixed on February 21 in the same court.
The JAC further said that since the trial has already commenced the concerned authority should apprehend the remaining three accused persons without any delay to mitigate any loophole in the case.
Only tangkhul customary law would give beffiting punishment to this barbarian
Befitting punishment for the culprit who had committed the heinous crime. The inhuman (no word to describe) way how Dr. Kishan was killed is really appalling. This person, if found guilty, should be punished with appropriate penalty considering the crime he committed was among rarest of the rare.