Centre appoints 3-member team, led by former chief justice Ajai Lamba, to investigate Manipur violence

The central government set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the recent incidents of violence in Manipur.

As per media reports, the commission will be led by Ajai Lamba, the former chief justice of the Gauhati High Court, and includes Himanshu Shekhar Das, a retired bureaucrat, and Prabhakar Aloka, a former intelligence officer, as members.

The commission will also investigate the series of events that led to the violence, examining all the relevant facts. This includes looking into any potential failures or negligence on the part of responsible authorities or individuals. Additionally, the adequacy of administrative measures taken to prevent and address the violence and riots will be assessed.

Prior to serving as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Ajai Lamba had been a judge in the Allahabad High Court. He had previously worked as a public prosecutor and was later promoted to the position of Judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2006.

In 2011, Justice Ajai Lamba was transferred to the Allahabad High Court, and in 2019, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. He retired from his position at Gauhati High Court in September 2020.

Himanshu Shekhar Das, who is a member of the commission, held the position of state information commissioner in Assam. He began his career in the Indian Administrative Services in 1982 and served as the Assam finance secretary for approximately 13 years. Additionally, Das was involved in a police commission established by the state government to propose recommendations for enhancing the policing system, its operations, and deployment in the state.

Prabhakar Aloka, a member of the commission, is a 1986 batch IPS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He held the position of special director in the Intelligence Bureau, India's top intelligence agency, for over thirty years before retiring in March 2020. During his career, Aloka was also posted in Manipur and actively participated in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Following his retirement, he authored a book that delves into the experiences of a real-life spy.

The ethnic violence first broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

(With inputs from agencies)