Manipur: Rights groups write to NHRC over ‘misuse of power’ by cops

Imphal: Human rights agencies have sought the intervention of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the “misuse of law and non-compliance with mandatory procedures” by Manipur Police and falsely implicating human rights defender Shintha Laishram in a case under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In a letter to CS Mawri, national focal point – human rights defenders and assistant registrar of NHRC, HRD Alert-India (HRDA), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Human Rights Alert (HRA) stated that on April 7, a team of Thoubal Police arrested Laishram Herojit Singh alias Shintha, 27, the general secretary of the Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA), from his residence without any arrest memo or warrant.

The CADA leader was charged under the UAPA for organising a protest meeting against the recent acquittal of Lukhosei Zou, the then chairman of Moreh Autonomous District Council (ADC), who was arrested along with seven others, in a drug haul case with several crores worth of drugs being recovered from his official residence in 2018.