More than three months after he was arrested in a case related to the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, 71-year-old former BJP MLA T.T. Haokip has now been denied bail by the Manipur High Court, on grounds that the complaint against him was corroborated by witness statements recorded before the police and that it might not be safe to grant bail given the situation in Manipur.
The ethnic conflict between the dominant valley-based Meitei people and the Scheduled Tribe hills-based Kuki-Zomi people has been ongoing since May 3 and has so far killed close to 180 people, injuring thousands of others and internally displacing thousands more.
Denying regular bail to Mr. Haokip, his son and one other accused in the case, the Manipur High Court said in its September 1 order, “The complaint is corroborated by the statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 161 Cr.PC. Moreover, no material is placed on record to substantiate the illness of A-1. The safety of the accused is also paramount importance. Considering all these facts, this court does not incline to release the accused persons on bail.”
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