A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Imphal granted bail to five armed miscreants arrested last week by the Manipur Police while they were travelling in police camouflage and with sophisticated arms and ammunition. The court ruled that while one of the accused, Moirangthem Anand Singh, belonged to a proscribed Meitei militant outfit, the police had failed to show any material that proved any of the accused had committed any terrorist acts.
Ever since the Unlawful Activities (Prohibition) Act was amended in 2008 to insert stringent provisions for bail, only a handful accused have been granted bail in UAPA cases — most either from the concerned High Court or the Supreme Court.
In the order, the court said, “The I.O. of the case cannot show strong prima facie case against all the accused persons for the commission of terrorist acts and prejudicial activities against the State attracting section 16 UA(P) Act and section 121-A of the IPC as of now.”
It added that the other charges against the five accused in the FIR, including ones under the Official Secrets Act and the Arms Act, are cumulatively punishable with up to seven years in prison and hence it is inclined to grant bail to the accused with a PR bond of ₹50,000 and one surety of the like amount each.
Soon after the bail was granted, Mr. Singh was arrested again and brought to Delhi on a special flight by a team of the NIA. Mr. Singh was arrested in connection with a general case registered to look into banned outfits in Manipur.
The Manipur Police have said that Mr. Singh had a history of being arrested for secessionist activities ever since he joined the People’s Liberation Army (a banned outfit) in the 1990s and trained as a cadre. He was last arrested in 2010 for being a member of the Kangleipak Communist Party (another banned outfit) and extorting a government office.
The accused — Mr. Singh, Athokpam Kajit, L. Michael Mangangcha, K. Romojit Meitei, and Keisham Johnson — were arrested by the Manipur Police on September 16 near the Meitei Mayek School in Imphal while they were travelling to Uyumpok in a white SUV in police camouflage uniforms and carrying arms and ammunition. The police said they recovered four rifles, including at least one INSAS rifle which is said to be looted in the early days of the ethnic conflict. The police also recovered nearly 200 rounds of live ammunition for the abovementioned rifles from the car of the accused.
Ever since their arrest, Meira Paibi groups across Imphal have been protesting for their release, saying they were just village defence volunteers protecting their people in the ongoing conflict. This week, the women’s group also called for a 48-hour Imphal bandh, during which they clashed with police and security forces when they tried to storm police stations across the city. After the bail was granted on September 22, the women’s groups said they were suspending their agitation.
Amidst this, the Special Public Prosecutor for NIA cases had approached the court seeking judicial custody of the accused till October 6. However, objecting to the remand application, the accused also filed their bail applications, all of which were taken up by the court. The Special PP argued that the accused must be sent to judicial custody because there was a chance that they might tamper with evidence, threaten and intimidate witnesses in the case.
However, the prosecution also said that given the situation of conflict in Manipur, the accused “are the village volunteers and they are doing their certain activities for the protection and safety of the villagers at large in Manipur (based on the statements recorded by the police during the course of investigation)”.
The prosecution also submitted that the investigating officer of the case was not able to establish any prejudicial activities committed by the accused because as per the police, they were apprehended while they were on their way to commit these activities and had not done so yet.
The prosecutor also cited the protests by Meira Paibis and submitted, “Thus, pray for passing appropriate order so as to protect the law of the land as well as to protect personal liberty of the accused.”
Lawyers for the accused reiterated that they were just village defence volunteers and that there was no prima facie evidence of them having committed any terrorist acts. Meanwhile, the police submitted that all the accused said during interrogation that the arms and ammunition recovered from their vehicle were handed over to them by “unknown” Meitei village volunteers, whose identities they do not recollect anymore, to protect their people.
In the bail order, the court has directed the accused to appear before the police every 15 days and cooperate with the investigation, prohibited them from leaving Manipur without court permission, and asked them to not influence prosecution witnesses in the case.
Weeks ago, the Manipur High Court had denied bail to three accused from the Kuki-Zo community, including a 71-year-old ex-BJP MLA, in a case related to the conflict, citing that there was prima facie evidence against them and that given the situation, the safety of the accused is paramount.
