Will accept any punishment, says policeman in staged killing row

Thounaojam Herojit, a police commando head constable who has admitted shooting an unarmed former insurgent in a 'fake encounter' on July 23, 2009, on Saturday said he will accept any punishment given by a court.

He was talking to reporters at the Press Club.

Referring to the news reports that he was missing, Herojit said: "I was not hiding. Some well-wishers were taking care of me."

However, he did not say how he disappeared from the high-security Imphal airport.

He said he had done wrong by killing the unarmed former insurgent, Chungkham Sanjit, and that he will regret it till the end.

Herojit said he was ready to face any inquiry and trial, and will gladly accept any punishment the court gives him.

Meanwhile, the Janata Dal-United and the CPI-ML have joined the chorus in demanding a proper inquiry and deterrent punishment to the guilty to ensure that there are no more 'fake encounters' in the state.

Reports say at least 1,528 people have been killed in Manipur in alleged staged shootouts.

JD-U state president M. Tombi told reporters on Saturday evening that in addition to the Central Bureau of Investigation, an agency like the National Investigation Agency should look into the case.

"Following the confessional statement by Thounaojam Herojit, now the case has taken a new turn. The whole truth should be unearthed and most drastic punishment given to the guilty ones. If this is not done, there will be more killings in this state," he said.

Herojit earlier said that an additional police superintendent had asked him to shoot the unarmed former insurgent since the chief minister and the director general of police at that time had approved it.

The additional police superintendent has denied the charge.

High Court lawyer A. Romenkumar told IANS that a police superintendent in Kerala had allegedly ordered the killing of a dreaded dacoit whose head carried a reward.

Eventually, he was promoted to state police chief while the constable who killed the dacoit was left with nothing.

The constable spilled the beans in front of the press, following which the Supreme Court directed the CBI to file a case. The 80-year-old former police chief is facing trial now.