On February 13, 2009 morning, Dr Th. Kishan, had left for Ukhrul district headquaters, 80 km north of the state capital, with Rajen, Token and three others - RS Ramsing, S Ramthing and Kapankhui Zimik – for a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Ukhrul, Pankaj Kumar Pal. He was scheduled to return home the next day.

However, when he failed to contact family members even after two days, they started a search for him, thinking that his vehicle had broken down on the hilly roads as in previous occasions. According to family members, during this period, many persons including a worker of a prominent MLA told them that Dr Kishan was in the custody of the NSCN-IM.

As the search went on, the mutilated dead body of Dr Kishan was recovered near Taphou Kuki village, around 6 kms south of Senapati district headquarters. The dead bodies of his driver Rajen and Mandal Token were also found nearby with signs of fatal head injuries. A blood soaked spade and a bloodied boulder were also found near the bodies. The three other staff members — RS Ramsing, S Ramthing and Kapankhui Zimik – were missing, raising questions about why the murderers had targeted only members of a particular valley-based ethnic community and why they had let the other hill people go free.

The barbaric and gruesome manner of the murder sparked off a volley of protest from the family members as well as the people of the state – both in the valley and in the hills. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed by locality members of the three murdered persons immediately responded with a 48-hours general strike on February 18 and 19, alleging that the DC of Ukhrul in collusion with the NSCN-IM were involved in the conspiracy. They demanded that the accused be booked and tried under criminal law.

Various Ukhrul based civil bodies including the Tangkhul Mayar Ngala Long, Tangkhul Naga Long, Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong and Tangkhul Shanao Long on the other hand also came out in open condemnation of the inhumane killings and called a 24-hour Ukhrul bandh from 6 pm on February 17 itself in protest. A massive protest rally was also held on February 25 in the hill town under the aegis of Tangkhul Naga Long.

In Senapati district, Naga People’s Organisation, Senapati District Women’s Association, Senapati District Students Association, United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women Union Manipur (NWUM), All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR)-South Sector also condemned the killings and joined the statewide call for justice. Perhaps for the first time in Manipur’s history of conflict, frontal organizations of major ethnic groups including Meitei, Naga and Kuki sat down and agreed to work together to pursue justice.

However, the Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi led Secular Progressive Front ministry tried to calm the public ire by immediately announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for Dr Kishan’s kin and Rs 5 lakh each for those of his two subordinates. For the first time in the history of compensation for deaths, the state government gave MCS (Manipur Civil Service) post to late Dr Kishan’s wife Romita along with suitable jobs for family members of the two subordinates by issuing appointment order in this regard on February 20 last. The case was also handed over to the CBI.

A separate inquiry committee headed by Commissioner (Agriculture) O Nabakishore and IGP (Intelligence) L M Khoute was also formed to investigate the killings. However no finding report has been tabled in public till the time that this article is being written.

Contradictory to public demand to book them as prime accused in the killings, Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pal and Superintendent of Police A Dorji of Ukhrul district were suspended from their posts for their alleged “negligence of duty.” At the same time, curfew was clamped from February 19 evening as a pre-emptive measure. Curfew relaxation began only after the last rites of the dead bodies were held on February 23 last.

Amidst this, the three other individuals- Ramsing, Ramthing and Kapankhui Zimik who were reported missing since February 13 were reportedly ‘rescued’ by a combined team of the Assam Rifles and the Manipur police from Tolloi village, over 115 km from Imphal in Ukhrul district. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh conveyed the report in a hurriedly called press conference in his office secretariat in the presence of his council of ministers and the Director General of Police, Manipur Yumnam Joykumar in an effort to control the public outcry against the killing.

Surprisingly neither the Chief Minister nor the DGP could say whether the rescued employees were freed by their abductors or whether they had escaped. “They are safe and sound. It will take two to three days to know the details of the abduction and the identity of the kidnappers,” the DGP said.

Surprisingly a day ahead of the last rites, NSCN-IM, which had been undergoing a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India since August 1997 admitted that one of its “commanding officers” the self styled Lieutenant Colonel H Ningshen was the mastermind in the killing of SDO and his subordinates.

The outfit which had once denied their involvement in the killing assured that whoever was involved in the killing would not be spared and will be awarded the ‘severest’ form of punishment. There is no report of awarding punishment till the writing of this article.

However the general public is not ready to accept the assurance as they have witnessed a series of false promises in the several cases such as the case of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Lungnila Elizabeth, the daughter of former Manipur Education Minister Francis Ngajokpa in 2003 and the murder of two school going children-Hrinii Hubert and Muheni Martin in Senapati district in 2007.

In the meantime, the Naga Peoples’ movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), condemning the individuals of NSCN (IM) for the murder of three officials said, “We demand that the guilty be put under trial immediately and severely penalised by the competent authority without any attempts whatsoever to manipulate the due course of justice”. It also reminded the outfit of its assurance and commitment.

“We would also like to state that the allegations made against late Th Kishan are not only dehumanizing but also point to a very unhealthy face-saving exercise that should be avoided when dealing with such a tragic and unwarranted event. We would like to remind everyone that this is not a time for the blame-game but a time to take responsibility in bringing the guilty to book,” the NPMHR added.

Manipur’s Lok Sabha MP Dr Thokchom Meinya, besides urging the centre to pull up the NSCN-IM for the willful murder of three state officials, has demanded for the immediate shifting of NSCN-IM camps if there are any in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Though there was lack of attention from the national media, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta had also raised the issue in Parliament and urged the government to take immediate “political and military” measures to check the NSCN (I-M) from indulging in violence and “violating” the ceasefire in parts of Manipur. “I seek immediate intervention by the government to safeguard our territorial integrity,” the CPI leader said raising the matter during a discussion on nationally important issues in the House.