Govt forms special NIA court in Manipur for trial of cases related to ethnic violence
New Delhi (PTI): A sessions court in Manipur's Churachandpur has been designated as a special NIA court for the trial of cases related to ethnic violence being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In a notification on Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the court of district and sessions judge, Churachandpur district, has been designated as a special court under Section 11 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (34 of 2008).
"In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (34 of 2008), the Central government, in consultation with the chief justice of the High Court of Manipur hereby designates the court of district and sessions judge, Churachandpur district, as the special court for the purpose of Sub-section (I) of Section 11 of the said Act, for the trial of the scheduled offences investigated by the National Investigation Agency," the notification said.
The jurisdiction of the special court shall extend throughout Manipur.
The NIA has taken over three key cases related to ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023. These cases include the abduction and killing of six women and children in Jiribam, as well as other violent incidents.
The NIA registered these cases in November 2024 after the MHA decided to hand them over to the agency for probe due to the severity of the crimes and the escalating violence in Manipur.
Manipur witnessed violence for several months since May 3, 2023. It started after Kuki-Zo tribals living in the hill districts protested over a high court recommendation for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Meiteis.
At least 260 people were killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Imphal valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups.
Manipur is currently under the President's Rule, which was imposed on February 13 after the then chief minister N Biren Singh resigned on February 9.
The state assembly, which has tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
After the imposition of the President's Rule, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla took a number of steps to restore peace and bring back normalcy. There were also efforts from the central government to open the state's roads for normal traffic. However, it did not fructify due to various reasons.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
