The affidavit also states that an all-women team comprising two psychiatrists and a psychologist from Churachandpur District Hospital has been constituted to assist the victims.
To “prevent repetition” of incidents like the sexual assault of three women in Manipur on May 4, all such cases will have to be reported to the Manipur Director General of Police, who will directly supervise the investigations, the Ministry of Home Affairs has stated in a report submitted to the Supreme Court late last week.
On July 20, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had stated that it was “deeply disturbed” by visuals of the incident, which had come to light on July 19 and had been widely circulated since. The court had asked the Centre and the state government to apprise it of steps taken to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.
On July 28, an affidavit by Home Secretary of India, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, was submitted to the court, which stated that the Union Home Ministry has been “continuously monitoring” developments of the case since it came to light. It apprised the court of the decision to transfer the investigation to the CBI, and reiterated its request that the trial be conducted in court outside Manipur.
Since the power to transfer a case outside a state lies only with the Supreme Court, in its affidavit, the Union Home Ministry requested the court to pass an order to this end along with directions that the trial should be concluded within a period of six months of the CBI filing the chargesheet.
The affidavit also states that an all-women team comprising two psychiatrists and a psychologist from Churachandpur District Hospital has been constituted to assist the victims. However, it adds that at the time of filing the affidavit, state authorities had not been able to reach the victims either physically or telephonically because of “resistance from civil society organizations in Churachandpur”, where the victims and their families had fled to after the incident. As far as measures to ensure such incidents do not repeat, the Ministry submitted that it has been made mandatory for police stations in-charge to report “all such cases” to the DGP, and that these investigations will be monitored by a police officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police under the direct supervision of the DGP. It also submitted that a “suitable reward” will be given for reporting such incidents and furnishing information leading to the arrest of culprits, for which the state government will also provide anonymity and security.
During its investigations in the case, the Manipur police arrested seven people since the video surfaced on July 19. Though a zero FIR in connection with the incident had been registered on May 18 itself, till July 19, the investigation had not made any progress.
Source : The Indian Express
