India: Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur

The 79-page report, 'These Fellows Must Be Eliminated': Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur, documents the failure of justice in the state, where for 50 years the army, empowered and protected by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), has committed numerous serious human rights violations.  
 
Soldiers and police are protected by laws granting immunity and officials unwilling to hold them accountable for serious crimes, said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. These laws perpetuate human rights abuses, which drive civilians to seek the protection of one or other armed group.  
 
The report details the failure of justice in the killing and possible rape of alleged militant Thangjam Manorama Devi by the paramilitary Assam Rifles in 2004. Repeated attempts to identify and punish those responsible for her death have been stalled by the army, which has received protection under the immunity provisions of the AFSPA.  
 
The report documents specific cases of extrajudicial executions and torture by soldiers, paramilitaries, and police in Manipur since 2006, and the Indian governments failure to curb the abuses. Torture of detainees, in particular severe beatings during interrogations of suspected militants and their supporters, remains common. Torture victims described to Human Rights Watch how they were arbitrarily arrested, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks and simulated drowning (waterboarding).  

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