The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has an uphill task in Manipur as nearly 27 cases of atrocities against women including gruesome crimes like rape, murder, assault are being probed by the agency sleuths who find themselves in the midst of heavy public distrust and an unrelenting cycle of violence that make restoration of order and speedy delivery of justice a far cry for now.
Even as a CBI team is in Imphal to probe the kidnapping and tragic death of two students, hostilities are continuing making it tough for sleuths to fast track investigations.
The pile up is only increasing as senior officials revealed that nearly 5,000 cases of arson, looting, riots and damage to public and private property are being probed separately by the state SITs (special investigation teams). Even before the CBI or SIT completes investigation in any of these cases, there is a fresh incident of crime or atrocities keeping the situation on the boil.
The situation is further compounded by the distrust on the ground, between people belonging to different communities—Kukis , Meitis or Nagas—as well as with security forces who have lost the confidence of people in many ways over the past four months.
The outcome is disturbing as investigators point out that the CBI teams are finding it difficult to meet the victims. While some refuse to meet or express reluctance to share details, there are hostile crowds and terrains which need to be factored in before the CBI teams start camping in those areas.
“There has been an incident recently when a CBI team after reaching the spot of crime was treated in a hostile manner and attacked,”said a senior security official. Amidst continuing tensions, the CBI teams are being given protection by the CRPF, but clearly the solutions are neither that simple nor that easy.
“There is curfew after 6pm until 5am. Movements are difficult and crowds gather as soon as there is any unfamiliar movement,” said an investigator.
“The Internet is staggered and there is tension on the ground.”
CBI officials, however, expressed confidence in handling the challenges. “We are used to difficulties on the ground. There will be no delay in probe ,” said an official.
But there another challenge for the probe agency. A lot of evidence is digital and social media driven and many cases require a lot of work on the ground to corroborate the facts, which means a lot of manpower of the CBI will remain busy with Manipur related investigations for sometime.
But till the fire is doused in Manipur, all eyes will remain on the judicial and law enforcement interventions on how speedily and fairly the cases are handled to bring some relief to the victims and revive the confidence of people in the strife-torn state.
