Imphal, September 12: Decreeing on six different writ petitions filed by the victims' parties the Gauhati High Court has asked Central authorities for payment of compensation to the next of kins of six persons killed in a firing incident of 1999.The court ordered payment of Rs three lakhs each to families of six civilians who fell prey to firing by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel at Tonsen Lamkhai of Thoubal district in October 1999.Justice TN Singh, in his Imphal bench sitting yesterday, served the decree after having perused writ petitions of family members of the deceased.

The Justice asked the respondents which included the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Director General of CRPF among others to pay the compensation amount within eight weeks.

In 10 civilians, including three students, were slain in the retaliatory firing by the CRPF men after their convoy came under attack.

The court had already disposed cases of the remaining four victims with similar verdict of financial assistance to the families of the deceased.

In the UG attack upon the CRPF convoy comprising of two different units, eight personnel including the second-in-command of 35 CRPF, RK Singh and assistant commandant of 81 CRPF Rajesh Rathore were killed.

The CRPF authorities had contended that the civilians were caught and killed in cross firing with the militants, according to case dossiers.

The court ruling, is informed to be based on findings of an inquiry report prepared by the district and session judge, Manipur West.

The trial court's report concluded that the civilians were killed by the CRPF in a cold-blooded manner and not in the exchange of firing as CRPF had claimed.

The firing incident took place on October 3, 1999, afternoon a day ahead of the Parliamentary election to the 13th Lok Sabha for the outer Manipur parliamentary constituency.

Polling personnel who were travelling in a bus towards Sugnu for poll duty reportedly reached Tonsen at around 1.10 pm which is five Kms from Sugnu police station and before long they heard gunshots and bomb explosions, the dossiers added.

They then lied down inside the bus, which could not proceed further owing to a CRPF vehicle blocking the road in front of it.

Some infuriated CRPF men then asked the occupants to run which they (occupants) declined resulting in random firing by the para-military forces killing three of them on the spot and injuring one.

Thereafter, the uniformed men directed their arms towards a nearby bus shed where some people including the students were present.

Even as the civilians were asked to raise their hands the SF opened fire from close range killing five of them.

A truck coming towards the area was also waylaid, the driver and his assistant called out and shot dead by the CRPF men.

The trial court that conducted the inquiry under the direction of the high court examined 12 prosecuting witnesses and six defence witnesses.

A pressure group Committee Against Atrocities on Civilians (CAC) was also formed in the wake of the massacre.

Advocates Serto T Kom and N Umakanta Singh appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

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