In 2019, Front Line Defenders traveled to Manipur, one of the states in the northeast region of India. The state is under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act of 1958, which effectively enables the Indian Army to maintain an ongoing presence in all areas of the state and to place all civilians under an effective rule by martial law. Under this Act, thousands of Manipuri civilians have been detained, jailed, tortured and extra judiciously killed by the armed forces and associated paramilitary forces. Soldiers serving in Manipur come from Indian states far from the North East, and effectively are outsiders to the ethnic and social fabric of the state. Soldiers are deployed and patrol in residential areas, and often conduct night raids. While armed groups have fought the Indian state since the 1950s, the abuses by the Indian Army and local police against the civilian population are well documented and are under investigation by the Supreme Court of India.
On March 20, 2011, the son of Imphal residents Irom Chitra, Irom Roger, died from the injury caused by a bullet shot at him from a close distance on a city road. Following a probe into the case by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in January 2012, a lower court in Imphal charged the accused, N. Ajay Meeitei, son of the present chief minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, with committing homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to five years in jail. Since her son's killing, Irom Chitra has sought justice for her son and help in pursuing her case against one of the most powerful families in the state of Manipur. Supported by human rights defender Binalakshmi Nepram, Irom Chitra refuses to accept payouts or lesser justice for her son; she also advocates for other victims families, as there is widespread impunity in Manipur.
Front Line Defnders spoke to Irom Chitra at her home in Imphal, where she resides under protection of the national police.
