Manipur CM's Son Sentenced With 5-Year-Jail-Term Over A Road Rage Killing Committed In 2011

Days after the Supreme Court sought response from the Centre, a Manipur trial court on Monday awarded five years jail term to the present state CM N Biren Singh's son, Ajay Meetai in a 2011 road rage case.

PTI

Last week, the apex court's vacation bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha issued notices to the Union Home Secretary and the Manipur Chief Secretary to respond by May 29 on the plea by Irom Chitra Devi, mother of Irom Roger who was killed.

The bench didn't issue notice to the Chief Minister and others in the case as sought.

Ajay Meetai has been awarded a five-year jail term under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC for firing at Roger in a road rage incident on March 20, 2011, and killing him.

The incident had occurred after Roger had allegedly not allowed Meetai to overtake him in his SUV which had irked the chief minister's son.

The plea, filed through advocate Utsav Bains, alleged that the parents of the victim were fearing for their safety in the state.

The parents have sought directions "to provide security for the safety of the life and liberty of petitioners and their family members against any kind of threat and victimisation for their peaceful stay throughout India." They have also sought a direction for an independent probe by a central agency on the ground that the state police was working at the behest of the convict.

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Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, who appeared for on behalf of the parents, also said no lawyer was ready to appear on their behalf before the Manipur High Court which is hearing the criminal appeal against the award of five-year jail term to the son of the chief minister.

Bains, who went to Manipur to represent the family, has also received threats, she alleged.

"In January, the petitioners (parents) approached several lawyers in the High Court of Manipur at Imphal, to file an appeal against the judgement of the Sessions Judge, Imphal (West), but all the lawyers they approached, refused to represent them due to the influence and clout of the Respondent No 3 (CM), more so in view of the fact that nobody could dare to stand-up against the Chief Minister, Home Minister of the State," the plea said.

The petition referred to the fact that the convict, who was sentenced to a five-year-jail term in 2011, is still serving the imprisonment which proves that he has been out of jail for a considerable period during the trial.