Close to midnight on July 10, 2004, a group of Assam Rifles personnel barged into the house of Thangjam Monorama, the second of six children in a Meitei family in Manipur바카라s Imphal East. She was 32. She was dragged out of her house, 바카라interrogated바카라 under a drizzling sky and later taken into custody. That was the last her family members saw her alive. Monorama바카라s bullet-riddled body was found about 3 km away the next morning.
Assam Rifles, which accused Monorama of being a cadre of the proscribed PLA, claimed that she was shot while trying to flee. Rights activists and fact-finding teams found many loopholes in the 바카라story바카라. Injury marks on her body pointed to torture, forensic tests on her clothes found semen stains, suggesting she was raped, possibly multiple times. But no one has been indicted so far, the case never went very far as the Assam Rifles took refuge under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), a controversial law that gives immunity to security personnel.
Women protesters in front of Kangla Fort.
Manipur erupted in anger over the killing, as pent-up public anger against security forces spilled onto the streets. But one protest made the country stand up and take notice. A dozen women stripped naked in front of the historic Kangla Fort, which then housed the headquarters of the 17 Assam Rifles. The women carried banners denouncing the force. One of the banners read, 바카라Indian Army, Rape Us바카라. It was also the beginning of a never-ending quest for justice for the family of Monorama; it바카라s a wait without end for a distraught mother, for the brothers who doted upon their sister. 바카라I feel suffocated whenever I recount the events. I don바카라t know what to say,바카라 says Thangjam Ongbi Khumanlei, 70, Monorama바카라s mother. Her eyes well up at the very mention of her daughter.
Monorama바카라s younger brother Thangjam Dolendro, 42, says he still remembers the fateful night. 바카라It must be around 11 pm when we heard voices outside. It was drizzling that night바카라The security personnel barged in and dragged out my sister,바카라 he says. Dolendro recalls her 바카라interrogation바카라 which lasted for more than an hour. 바카라Her reply to every question was 바카라I don바카라t know바카라. I saw them gagging her and then water-boarding her바카라 It was a heartbreaking sight.바카라 The family rejected the state government바카라s offer for financial compensation. 바카라We could have been earning enough to run the family if we accepted the offer. Justice is what we want, not ex-gratia nor job바카라but justice,바카라 says Dolendro.
Formerly an independent kingdom, Manipur became a princely state under British rule and joined India in 1949. Many Manipuris, however, say that their king was forced to sign a merger pact by New Delhi. Several armed groups have been battling for 바카라freedom바카라 in Manipur for years. The Centre declared the state 바카라disturbed바카라 and sent in troops to curb the rebellion. Over the years, hundreds of civilians have been killed by both security forces and rebels, scores have 바카라disappeared바카라, allegations of extra judicial killings by security forces are rife. One such incident, the infamous Malom Massacre on November 2, 2000바카라when 10 civilians were shot dead by security forces while waiting at a bus stop in Malom town바카라led to a 16-year-long hunger strike by Irom Sharmila demanding scrapping of the AFSPA.
More than 15 years have passed but the family of Monoroma clings on to the last bit of hope for justice. 바카라Justice will not be delivered as long as the culprits are not given befitting punishment,바카라 says Dolendro. In the killing fields of Manipur, caught between rebels and security forces, hope still burns, however feeble, in the hearts of an oppressed populace.
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By Donald Sairem in Imphal
