Irom Roger's mother Irom Chitra Devi also wants Ajay Meetai's jail term to be enhanced.
A 19-year-old was killed in a road rage shooting in 2011. The man who pulled the trigger, Ajay Meetai, is the son of Manipur's current Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who was then a sports minister in Okram Ibobi Singh's Congress government. But the victim's parents now allege threat to their safety. They have approached the Supreme Court to request for a security cover for the family alleging that "the state police was working at the behest of the convict".
Besides the parents, Chandigarh-based advocate Utsav Singh Bains, who filed the plea in the top court, too, has sought protection from the state machinery which was acting in an "arbitrary and illegal manner" allegedly at the behest of the present Chief Minister, who also the home ministry under him.
A vacation bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha asked the Centre and Manipur government for their response to the allegation levelled by the parents. The Supreme Court will take up the case again on May 29.
The incident had occurred after Roger had allegedly not allowed Ajay to overtake him in his SUV which had irked the chief minister's son who fired at Roger. Ajay was sentenced to five years in jail, but Irom Chitra Devi, mother of Irom Roger, the victim, wants the sentence to be enhanced.
Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, who is representing the parents in the Manipur High Court which is hearing the criminal appeal against the jail term awarded to Ajay, said no lawyer was ready to appear on their behalf due to the alleged influence of the chief minister.
Their petition also highlighted the fact that the convict, who was sentenced to five-year-jail term in 2011, is still serving the imprisonment which proves that he has been out of jail for a considerable period during the trial.
The parents, who are presently camping in Delhi to escape harassment, also alleged that they were being pressurised into meeting Biren Singh for "settlement of the case".
(With inputs from agencies)