Correspondent
IMPHAL, MAY 30: A panel of the Commission of Inquiry (Manipur Violence) 2023, led by its chairperson Justice BS Chauhan visited a relief camp of displaced people in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Saturday.
The panel of the commission arrived in Imphal on May 29on a two-day visit in the state to assess the ground realities.
After visiting some relief camps of the IDPs in Imphal West, Imphal East and Bishnupur districts, the commission today (May 30) visited a relief camp in Churachandpur.
During Saturday’s visit in Churachandpur which the Manipur DIPR, in a press release, described as “a significant step to assess ground realities of the ongoing crisis, the panel members interacted directly with inmates of the relief camp.
They also heard first-hand accounts of displacement, hardship, and concerns arising from the violence, the release added.
The panel visited a prefabricated relief camp at Torbung in Churachandpur district where the IDPs of the violence crisis that besieged the state for the last three years since it unfolded on May 3, 2023 were taking shelter.
The chairperson was accompanied by two other members of the commission and secretary to the commission Mohan Lal Meena and commissioner (home) Ashok Kumar.
Top officials of the Churachandpur district administration like DC Dharun Kumar S, additional DC Seiminthang Lenthang, SDO Churachandpur Anunay Anand, SDO Kangvai Th Mangminthang Gangte and SDO TuibongJangminlen Lupho were also present during the interaction programme.
The interaction enabled camp residents to articulate their grievances, living conditions, and expectations from the administration, the DIPR release said.
The visit forms part of the commission’s ongoing efforts to gather first-hand evidence and ensure that the inquiry remains firmly anchored in the lived experiences of affected communities, it added.
Following the outbreak of the violence crisis in May 2023, the Centre instituted a three-man inquiry constituted under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 headed by former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Ajai Lamba and Himanshu Shekhar Das IAS (Retd) and Aloka Prabhakar IPS (Retd) are the members. While instituting the commission, the order issued on June 4, 2023 stated that the commission will submit its report to the Central government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting.
However, the commission of inquiry, set up weeks after the violence began in 2023, has missed five deadlines and is yet to submit its findings.
The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has granted a sixth extension in the deadline for the commission to submit its report on Manipur violence by November 20, 2026.
According to the fresh notification issued on May 14 last, the commission shall submit its report to the Central government as soon as possible but not later than November 20, 2026.
The delay comes even as the state continues to see sporadic violence. Since 2023, the unrest has left over 260 people dead and displaced around 60,000.
The chairman and members of the commission are currently on a visit to the state from May 29 to 30 May.
Ahead of the Churachandpur visit, the commission met chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh today morning and briefed him about their visit. Earlier, the team had also visited relief camps of the IDPs in Bishnupur, Imphal West and Imphal East districts.