Manipur govt orders Magisterial probe into death of woman and baby

way2barak, Oct 29 : The Manipur government ordered a Magisterial inquiry into the death of Bashanti Devi (48) and her minor daughter Adhikarimayum Lanchenbi Devi (4) in Imphal West district, officials said here on Tuesday night.

An official said that Imphal West’s District Magistrate Shamim Ahmad Shah in a notification on Tuesday requested the interested people to give oral evidence or produce any material and documents about the death before the inquiry officer on or before November 8.

The 48-year-old Bashanti Devi, a widow and her minor daughter were found dead at their residence in Manipur’s Imphal West district on September 22.

Several voluntary and civil society organisations, including the Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the Youth’s Forum for Protection of Human Rights (YFPHR) launched agitations demanding an investigation of the deaths with the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

After that, an agreement was signed on October 27 between the state government and the JAC against the unnatural death of the woman and her minor daughter.

The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) took suo-moto cognizance of the incident involving unnatural deaths.

The mother and her daughter were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their residence at Haoreibi Mayai Leikai, about 16 km from Imphal City on September 22.

Smelling foul play, the JAC initially refused to collect the dead bodies, but following the agreement with the government, the bodies were claimed and the last rites of the duo were performed on Sunday (October 27).

Meanwhile, police have yet to find out the clues about the recovery of a powerful live hand grenade, which was found at the gates of Ghanapriya Women’s College, located less than 100 metres from the Raj Bhavan here on Monday..

A police official said that the recovery of the live hand grenade in front of a prominent women’s college in an important location triggered panic among the people in Imphal West district.

The women’s college is located less than 100 metres from the Governor’s house and 300 metres from Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s official residence and Manipur Police headquarters.

The recovery of the hand grenade occurred amid several educational institutions in the Imphal valley reportedly receiving extortion threats.