In an affidavit filed in the High Court of Manipur, an officer from the Indian Army has alleged that an army team carried out killing and extortion of innocent people in the state. In a shocking allegation, Lieutenant Colonel Dharamvir Singh from 3 Corps Intelligence Unit has raised a serious question on the objective behind these extra-judicial killings. The case is expected to again trigger the debate around the need of AFSPA which is partially effective in the state.
Lieutenant Colonel Dharamvir Singh's wife filed an affidavit on his behalf on July 20, 2018. The affidavit mentioned that Lt. Col. Singh was taken away from Imphal by army personnel led by Lieutenant Colonel Nanda and Major Rathore on July 1 and was kept under house arrest. He was later released after the high court intervened. The Army has dismissed the claims as baseless and said the officer was sent for posting. Currently, Lt. Col. Singh is staying in Imphal with his family and is on leave.
In the affidavit to the high court, Lt. Col. Singh argued that in a written complaint to his unit on September 2016, he highlighted the fake encounter and extortion perpetrated on innocent persons of Manipur by Army's Intelligence Corps and Surveillance Unit. It was further told in the affidavit that civilians were picked from various places and murdered.
Eventually, the complaint letter was withdrawn by Lt. Col. Singh under pressure from his seniors and an assurance to take necessary action against the personnel involved in the wrongdoings. He also complained that after he reported the wrongdoings of the unit, the senior officers first showed cold shoulders and later he was harassed.
Army has been directed by the High Court to file its counter affidavit before August 1.
This is not the first time an army officer is complaining against his own unit. In a similar instance, Indian Army's most decorated officer Colonel Saurabh Singh Shekhawat has accused two former army chiefs and a senior serving officer of harassing him for reporting about a botched operation in 2011 that embarrassed the force.
