Imphal, August 06 2009: The question who fired the bullet or bullets that killed Rabina and wounded five others, during the alleged shoot out at BT Road on July 23 morning, is taking an interesting turn in the light of inputs from arms experts even as Manipur Human Rights Commission has started recording the statements of the injured and eye-witnesses.

In the statement read out by Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh on the floor of the Assembly on the same day of the incident as well as the one released to the press by Senior SP of Imphal West District, it was mentioned that a suspicious looking youth, who came from the side of Uripok fled towards BT Road and opened indiscriminate firing, when a police team tried to stop him for frisking.

A top police officer of Imphal West District who was present at the site of the alleged shoot out had also told The Sangai Express that while frisking, the suspicious looking youth raised his left hand in the air and whisked out the gun with his right hand and opened fire.

But the bullet missed the policeman and hit Rabina who later succumbed to the injuries.

An AR personnel, who came in a bullet proof vehicle but sustained bullet injuries on his chest and left arm while getting out of the vehicle to talk to one of his friends, had been hospitalised at RIMS.

The bullets, however, have not yet been removed.

As of the fatal bullet that hit Rabina on the head, RIMS authorities said that it pierced through and exited.

Talking to mediapersons yesterday before being referred to the Army Hospital at Leimakhong, the injured AR personnel identified as Pangambam Lukhoi of Heingang Makha Leikai informed that the sound of firing he heard on that day was not of small arms.

''We also fire guns, so we can make out the difference of the sound.

It was not single shot but burst'', Lukhoi said.

When The Sangai Express revisited the site of the alleged encounter, it was noticed that the spot where Rabina lay in a pool of blood, after being hit by a bullet on her head, was around 40 to 50 feet away from the spot where Lukhoi as standing when he was hit by bullets.

One Mangal Golmei who was present in front of Rupmahal Theatre was also hit by a bullet in the same incident.

But the spot where Golmei was hit by the bullet is very far from where Rabina lay and Lukhoi was wounded.

According to arms experts and police officials, effective range of a pistol is around 50 feet and that of automatic riles is around 900 feet.

Pistol also cannot release bullets in burst.

Meanwhile, MHRC has started recording the statements of the injured as well as well as eye-witnesses.

Comment