State Government must own moral responsibility
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: February 19, 2009 -

The bloody hands of Lady Macbeth could not be washed clean, and the perfunctory denial of involvement in the brutal, inhuman and merciless killings of Kasom Khullen SDO, Dr Thingnam Kishan and his two staff at Taphou cannot hold waters. There are glaring circumstantial evidences pointing the accusing fingers at the NSCN (IM).

The whole truth will be known one day since the three Tangkhul tribals kidnapped along with the three officials bludgeoned to death are believed to have been set free, at least they were not murdered on parochial tribe considerations. Eleven Kuki militants who had been invited for a pow-wow had been traitorously mowed down while the victims were about to depart in a jeep.

A number of Meiteis had been murdered here and there, perhaps to ignite the communal tinder. The people of Manipur deserve world appreciation since, being matured, they could not be reduced to pawns of these communal enfant terribles. This time too, the people cannot be dragooned into communal clashes, and the murderers and the architects of the vivisection of the ancient land will be disappointed.

The three slain persons had been abducted by the armed persons virtually from the precincts of the DC's office. The officials were missing from February 13, and till the time of the recovery of the mangled bodies on the morning of February 17, the DC had not lodged any complaint with the police. After suspending him, he should be interrogated for his inexplicable role.

From his statement, it will be clear which outfit had demanded illegal tax, and it will be conclusive. The police who had registered a suo motu case had not inched forward. The government had failed to mobilise a rescue operation. This time the Chief Minister's standard statement that "police know where the kidnapped persons were kept but family members asked police not to launch rescue operations fearing the safety of the persons" was absent. In normal circumstances, a massive manhunt should have been launched within minutes of abduction. In an 'Atlas shrugged' manner now the case will be handed over to the CBI.

If accepted, the sleuths should interrogate the powers that be, the Ukhrul DC and others. The financial solatium announced in an indecent haste is salt added to the injury. If the family members of the Chief Minister, the Governor and other VVIPs were thus murdered, would such a chicken feed have consoled the bereaved members? The administration is also shirking responsibility by handing over the case to the CBI. Tax payers are paying astronomical salary to the officials for doing investigations, etc. This is for the first time that tribal organisations are calling strikes in their areas to condemn the massacre of some non-tribals. The reason for this panic reaction is obvious. Should people say that the Nagas, the Kukis, the Nepalis and other non-Manipuris have no fellow feeling towards the non-tribals?

The SPF ministry may think that with the announcement to hand over the case to the CBI, it has sloughed off its responsibility. But people know that it is as good as having been thrown into the waste basket. The CBI sleuths are also men of flesh and blood. Over 30 cases have been pending for decades, and indications are that they will never be solved. Forty years hence, many people may forget the Taphou victims. And it is a foregone conclusion that the murderers may never be booked.

The only case which was concluded from the CBI's angle was the decades old medical scandal case. But the verdict is being challenged and the outcome is anybody's guess. The sepulchral silence of many politicians, in general, and the Opposition, in particular are pregnant with question marks. The government should act in a realistic way before the tolerance of the people is tested for the umpteenth time. The whole truth should be placed before the people and the wheat should be separated from the chaff by rejecting the carefully tailored black lies.