Imphal, January 02 2010: The District and Session Judge, Manipur East will conduct spot inquiry into the nine year old Malom Massacre of November 2, 2000 that killed 10 civilians in a shoot out by the Assam Rifles near a bus-stop in the aftermath of attacked by insurgents which marked the beginning of fasting stir of Irom Sharmila demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958 .

The District and Session Judge, Manipur East will conduct spot inquiry into the incident on January 7 at 11.30 am as part of its ongoing inquiry into the incident to find fact and circumstance resulting into the firing incident.

The spot inquiry will be conducted by a team of the court.

District and Session Judge, Th Surbalal on December 30, 2009 has issued orders investigating officer and both the parties of the petitioners and respondents to ensure present at the spot the on the scheduled date, an official source said.

On November 2, 2000, Assam Rifles massacred 10 innocent civilians, including women and children, and brutally assaulted more than 64 civilians in the follow up a brutal combing operation in the aftermath of an attack on their convoy.

Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench directed the District and Session Judge to investigate into the incident in its ruling on May 12 , 2004 and June 3, 2005 to find out the fact and circumstances of the incident in response to the writ petition filed by family of one of the victims.

Mention may be made that Irom Sharmila's fast-to-death began in the aftermath of this incident.

The massacre which s one of many such incident shocked Irom Sharmila Chanu and triggered into a silent and lonely struggle against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, an Act that human rights bodies of not only Manipur but also entire globe blamed behind the excessive meted by the security forces in north eastern India and Jammu and Kashmir where the Act is in force.

Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike since November 5, 2000 demanding repeal of the Act and government is confining her in the jail on the charge of attempted homicide and has been forced fed in custody since then.

Women groups of the state under the banner of the Sharmila Kanba Lup (a body for Saving Sharmila) is also on relay hunger strike since December 10, 2008 for the last more than one year.

They are also demanding repeal of the draconian law and save the life of Sharmila.

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