Manipur cop returns gallantry award, asks CM to give it to someone ‘more deserving and loyal’
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Guwahati: Thonaujam Brinda, a decorated Manipur police officer who was awarded the Chief Minister’s Police Medal for Gallantry in 2018 for her contribution in curbing smuggling activities in the state, returned her medal Friday. The recognition was part of the chief minister’s ‘War against Drugs’ initiative.
Brinda’s decision comes a day after the Special Court (ND & PS) Manipur acquitted Lhukosei Zou, a former chairman of the Autonomous District Council (ADC), Chandel and six others in the 2018 drug haul case.
Brinda, an assistant superintendent of police, was instrumental in Zou’s arrest in a major operation launched by Manipur Police in 2018. She was also awarded the Chief Minister’s Commendation Certificate in 2019.
Speaking to ThePrint after the court verdict Thursday, Brinda said, “My charges against the system are hence proved.”
She had made news earlier this year for her allegations against the Chief Minister, of directly, and through his senior officials, “piling pressure” on her to release Zou.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister N. Biren Singh Friday, Brinda wrote: “I feel morally inclined that I have not conducted my duty as ‘per the wishes’ of the Criminal Justice Delivery System of the land. Hence, for the reason cited above, I do not consider myself deserving of the honour bestowed upon me by your good self. I, therefore, return the same to the State Home Department so that it may be given to a more deserving and loyal police officer.”
‘War on Drugs is only an eyewash’
A 2012 Manipur Police Service officer, Brinda is facing contempt proceedings (suo moto) by the Manipur High Court for her “derogatory, defamatory and contemptuous” remarks on Facebook, allegedly undermining and criticising the judiciary after Zou was granted interim bail on 21 May.
In an affidavit filed on 13 July, in response to the contempt charges filed against her, Brinda had referred to the judge as “biased, incompetent, and lacking in integrity while dealing with the bail matter”.
She had also mentioned: “The menace of drugs is never taken seriously by the present system. The ‘War on Drugs’ is only an eyewash coined by the present system to gain political mileage.”
Earlier this year, Brinda was also detained by police along with two others for allegedly defying Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in Imphal.
In July, Brinda had said that her house was surrounded by armed police personnel and officials in civilian clothes in the name of providing security to her 76-year-old father-in-law, Rajkumar Meghan, who was the chairman of the Manipur-based insurgent group United National Liberation Front. Meghen had returned to Manipur after 44 years in November last year, after being released from the Guwahati Central Jail.
Brinda Friday confirmed to ThePrint that her house was still surrounded by security forces.
Courtesy: theprint.in
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Mangaluru: Man sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment in POCSO case
Mangaluru: A court in Mangaluru has sentenced a 44-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to Deccan Herald, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-II (POCSO), Maanu K S, delivered the judgment.
The convict has been identified as Dayanand Moolya (44).
According to Special Public Prosecutor Sahana Devi Boloor, the incident occurred on November 16, 2025, when a seven-year-old girl was studying alone at home and the accused illegally entered the house and raped her. He threatened to kill her and throw her into a well if she revealed it to anyone.
The survivor later informed her mother, following which a complaint was registered at Mulki Police Station on November 22. Police Inspector Manjunath B S investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet to the court.
For the rape, under POCSO Section 6, along with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act 65(2) and POCSO 4(2), the man has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30,000. For illegal entry into the house, under BNS Section 332(B), the convict has been sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. For issuing death threats, under BNS Section 351(3), he has been sentenced to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000.
The court also directed payment of Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the survivor, including Rs 40,000 from the fine amount, and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to provide the remaining Rs 3.60 lakh.
