IMPHAL: Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Mishra, previously stationed in Lakhimpur, Assam, has been transferred to take charge of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating violence-related cases in Manipur.
The directive comes in response to an order from the Supreme Court.
According to reports, IPS officer Mishra, who assumed the role of SP in Lakhimpur after the unfortunate incident involving the death of SI Junmoni Rabha, has now been appointed as the in-charge of the SIT tasked with probing specific cases of violence in Manipur.
Accompanying Mishra in this responsibility is another Assam Police Service (APS) officer, Randip Kumar Barua.
Both officers are expected to assume their roles immediately, according to the local press.
The governor’s notification outlines that SP Mishra (RR-2011), and SP (Border-II) APS Baruah (DR-1993) are now at the disposal of the Manipur government to lead the SITs formed for investigating incidents in Manipur.
This move is in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court of India, as per its judgment dated August 7, 2023, in Special Leave Petition (SLP) Civil Diary No. 19206 of 2023.
The apex court had earlier directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to form SITs under DIG-rank officers to investigate six cases of violence in Manipur referred to it by the state government.
Earlier on December 11, in a fresh wave of violence in strife-torn Manipur, 13 people lost their lives in Tengnoupal district of the state.
According to official reports cited by various media outlets, a confrontation occurred between two unidentified armed groups in Leithu village.
The clash erupted when a group of militants, en route to Myanmar, was ambushed by another faction in the region, according to a statement given by a local official to a national news agency.
Security forces swiftly responded to the incident, discovering 13 bodies at the scene.
