Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, January 04 01 2010:
Justice Agarwal Commission of Inquiry probing the July 23 shooting incident at crowded Khwairamband Bazar Monday issued bailable warrant of arrest to Tehelka's Teressa Rehman and Soma Choudhury who wrote stories on the incident.
The two scribes of the Delhi based magazine, Tehelka, Teresa Rehman and Soma Choudhury exposed the July 23 incident as "fake encounter" with a sequence of 12 photographs showing the moments before, during and after the 'encounter killing' of a 27-year-old Sanjit by a heavily-armed detachment from Manipur Police Commandos in their articles "Murder in Plain Sigh" and "Life in Shadow Land".
The two who were pointed out as witnesses of the incidents by the One Man Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice (retired) PG Agrawal were summoned by the commission for the second time today but they failed to appear before the commission today also.
Witnesses Teressa and Soma did not appear although notices and summons were served on them and on the last date of hearing, they had sent communication, the commission said during the hearing held today at Hotel Imphal where the office of the commission is located.
However, their counsels were present at the hearing.
Bailable warrant of arrest with bail of Rs 500 were issued against the two witnesses through the commissioner of police, Delhi in respect of Soma Choudury and senior superintendent of police, Kamrup, Guwahati in respect of Teressa Rehamn, to appear before the commission on January 20 at 11 am, Justice (retd) PG Agarwal ordered during the hearing of the commission today.
The hearing today examined two more witnesses, Kaluram Saina (manager) and Babulal Saini (waiter) respectively of Sanapukei Restaurant located just next to the watch repairing shop where the victim, Sanjit of the July 23 shooting incident was killed by the police commandos.
Kaluram recalled the incident of the day and said the picture shown in Tehelka magazine is the hotel he is serving but he could not recognize the identity of the person shown in the picture as he was nervous.
Nobody was arrested by the commandos from his hotel even though many people gathered at his hotel after the shooting took place.
Commando personnel did not pick up any suspect from his hotel when they conducted verification to the customers, the manager said adding "I do not know what had happened in the nearby pharmacy".
Babulal also stated that he could not recognize the identity of the civilian escorted by the police commando (victim Sanjit).
"It is not a fact that I am not speaking the truth today and again it is not a fact that I had a fact that I had seen but due to certain reasons I am not telling the e ntire facts before the commission," he said.
During the cross examination, Babulal who is also seen in the picture said he had not seen the photographer and he do not know how his photograph appeared in the picture.
The commission at the concluding part of the hearing also ordered summons of doctors who conducted post-mortem examination on the two deceased personspregnant housewife, Th Rabina and former underground Ch Sanjit in the shoot out incident.