New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member commission to investigate allegations of fake encounters by security forces in Manipur.
The top court said former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, former chief election commissioner JM Lyngdoh and former Karnataka police chief Ajay Kumar Singh will be in the commission.
A petition in the court had alleged more than 1,500 fake encounters in Manipur in the last three decades and demanded a probe by a special investigation team.
The Supreme Court said six encounters would be investigated to begin with and the rest would be considered later.
The court has also directed the commission to examine the functioning of Manipur Police and security forces. In case the commission finds that their actions transgress the legal bounds, the commission shall make its recommendations for keeping the police and the security forces within the legal bounds without compromising the fight against insurgency, the court said.
The commission will submit its report to the court within 12 weeks.
"We hope the commission headed by Santosh Hedge will bring justice," said human rights activist Babloo Loitongbam.
One of the petitioners, 28-year-old Neena Ningonbam, recounted how her husband went missing in November 2008. "We were having lunch. Security forces came and took my husband away. His body was found after a few days," she alleged.
The Centre had opposed the commission and pitched for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. But the court had said: "Even magisterial reports of encounters are not sent to the National Human Rights Commission. There's an urgent need for an independent probe by people of eminence."