'Catching the Chairman of an Autonomous Council with Drug worth Rs. 27 Core Was Not a Joke'

Bail for 'Drug Lord's Lukhosei Zou & Transfer of Addl. SP (NAB) Th. Brinda - Misuse of Power - AMSU

Manipur Judicial Officer's Association (MJOA) is Trying to Blemish Image of MPS and Th. Brinda: KKL

“Be so tough that your strongest enemy will think twice, many times before trying to attack you. Simple as that” - This is the life philosophy of Manipur’s ‘BRAVEST AND BOLDEST POLICE OFFICER’ - THOUNAOJAM BRINDA, who is Additional SP, NAB in the state of, Manipur. On 26th Sept 2019, this lady, Th Brinda was awarded for the best performing officer against smuggled & counterfeit trade held by FICCI Cascade (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) at Hyaat Regency, New Delhi, because Brinda had busted several big drug cartels in the state. She was conferred with Chief Minister’s Gallantry Medal in the year 2018 and Chief Minister’s Commendation Certificate last year in recognition for her contribution on the war against drugs. However, the society of Manipur is divided into two parts on the issue of Th. Brinda, because of a case against her for her posts on the social media Face book with the Cyber Crime SP. There are others, who are saying that the officer is being targeted because of her tirade against the Drug peddlers.   

However, Brinda, locked down at home, with her husband “face to face 24/7 with him, gearing up skills not to fight with him in this lockdown,” and that is a “Herculean task” for her, not this controversy. Plz. read an in-depth report by our Spl Correspondent Sanjoo Thangjam, from Imphal - Onkareshwar Pandey, Editor in Chief, IOP, Delhi    

By Sanjoo Thangjam, Spl Correspondent, IOP, Imphal

IMPHAL: May 30, 2020:  The Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) has accused the Manipur Judicial Officer’s Association of trying to blemish the image of one of the ‘BRAVEST AND CLEANEST POLICE OFFICERS’ in response to the latter’s allegations that the Manipur Police Service (MPS) officer THOUNAOJAM BRINDA was trying to lower the stature of judicial services officers. The organization had taken strong exception to the filing of a case against Brinda for her posts on the social media Face book with the Cyber Crime SP.
In a press statement signed by its General Secretary, Ngamkheingakpa Luwang, KKL noted that the acrimony toward Th. Brinda from the side of MJOA was a fallout of the crackdown on drugs dealers of Manipur by the former additional SP of NAB and her team during which the chairman of the Autonomous District Council of Chandel Lhukhosei Zou was caught with four and half kilograms of No.4 heroin and over one lakh WY Tablets.

According to KKL, Zou had jumped bail in the past and had absconded for over one year till he surrendered recently.

He had again moved bail on medical grounds. Dr. Varneikip Chiru the medical officer who had testified for the accused was initially unsure of the seriousness of the ailment of the required gall bladder operation but retracted the previous statement to opine that it was serious.

Standing behind the controversy the police officer had courted, KKL pointed out that in the statements Brinda had stressed that under the provisions of the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychedelic Substances Act (ND&PS) a person who had been arrested under it with a "Prima Facie” case being established has to prove his or her own innocence and that the fact that drugs worth several crores of rupees were caught from him, and it was the Prima Facie case.

“However, Judiciary had decided to hold the dictum that a person is innocent until proven guilty and set him free on interim bail”, added the statement.

It further stated that Dr. Chiru had failed to admit the fact that when the accused Lhukoshei Zou have survived one year in the jungles of Burma as per his own statement, he was kidnapped from the high security ward of JNIMS hospital by a Burma based Kuki militant outfit called Zalengam, and he had not upon re-entry to India lodged a complaint with the police to that effect.

“On the other hand, if the judicial officers are so worried about protecting the integrity of the judicial institution of Manipur then perhaps they ought to realize that three session judges in Tamil Nadu were removed from office on charges of corruption; one judge of the Allahabad High Court removed and one sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court had also been sent to jail,” the statement added.

“If the Judiciary is so concerned about maintaining the integrity of her office she could have issued a CONTEMPT OF COURT NOTICE AGAINST BRINDA INSTEAD OF TRYING TO TAKE SHELTER BEHIND THE JUDICIAL OFFICERS ’ ASSOCIATION OR COULD HAVE ORDERED A MEDICAL BOARD TO EXAMINE THE HEALTH OF THE ACCUSED, the statement added.

“WE STAND BEHIND BRINDA IN HER CRUSADE AGAINST THE EVER GROWING DRUG MENACE AND WE KNOW THAT SHE IS NOT CORRUPT WHICH WE CANNOT SAY THE SAME ABOUT YOUR JUDICIAL OFFICERS,” the KKL maintained in the statement.

On the other hand, the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) has also condemned the ‘UNFAIR TRIAL’ and release of ‘DRUG LORD’ LUKHOSEI ZOU on interim bail, saying that the judiciary system has misused its power when the accused happens to be high profile individuals.

The ex-ADC chairman was arrested along with seven others with drugs worth over Rs 27 crore in the international market by a team of NARCOTIC AND AFFAIRS OF BORDER (NAB) police and Imphal West police on June 20, 2018. 

In the press release issued by the Publicity & Information Secretary Lhunpao Lhupeng, the students’ organization stated that the steps taken up by the government on ‘ WAR AGAINST DRUG ’ seemingly has failed its mission when it comes to taking on such high profile person who tried to ruin the youths of the state.

AMSU queried regarding the processes and nature of the judiciary system asking under what terms and conditions the person was released once again under medical grounds, reminding that Lhukhosei Zou also went missing repeatedly in the past after the court had granted him interim bail. He failed to turn up on numerous counts and went missing, and thereafter appeared in the special court in person when the court allowed a plea submitted by his counsel to allow his client to surrender and participate in the trial, after which the state government accordingly declared him an absconder, the press release stated.

AMSU further condemned the government for transferring additional SP of NAB Thounaojam Brinda Devi after she expressed condemnation to the unfair trail of the court and subsequently she uploaded a post on her Facebook account regarding the matter expressing her strong opposition against the presiding judge for what she described as unfairly providing opportunities and repeated prayers of interim bail under medical grounds.

AMSU stated that the intentional issuance of transfer order of former NAB Addl. SP Thounaojam Brinda Devi beforehand, prior to the conduct of the final hearing of the absconder, is an act of misusing the power of the authority that will sway the case into unfair trail.

Therefore, it is demanded that the government put aside personal lobbies and stand against the misuse of power by the authorities and judicial system through money powers and taking political advantage, stated the press release.

AMSU also demanded the government to help bring justice through a fair trial in the eyes of the people against such 'ABSCONDER and DRUG LORD’ who tried to destroy the youths and also the people of the state.

The press release made an appeal to others to stand firmly in support of the outstanding performance of being a police officer like Addl. SP THOUNAOJAM BRINDA DEVI, despite the forces bringing her down in a discouraging manner and instead appreciate her for her true spirits in helping the government and authority to fight war against drug. The union will stand against such injustice and misuse of power, added the press release.

THE BACKGROUND

Earlier, the All Manipur Judicial Officers' Association had lodged a complaint against Additional SP NAB (Narcotics and Affairs of Border) Thounaojam Brinda to the Cyber Crime Department for posting "unethical comment" on Facebook against Special Judge ND&PS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act).

The association in its complaint noted that Additional SP NAB Thounaojam Brinda had uploaded a post in her Facebook account with "defamatory and contemptuous statement which grossly affects and undermines the sanctity of judicial institution.

"The follow up comments of the readers of the Facebook post are more damaging to the judicial system setting a bad precedent of legitimizing mob justice in the State," said the complaint.

All Manipur Judicial Officer's Association takes the "derogatory and contemptuous statement" posted by the Additional SP NAB against the judicial institution very seriously, said the association strongly condemning and seeking legal action.

The complaint urged the SP Cyber Crime to look into the matter seriously and take up necessary steps to book Thounaojam Brinda and all who passed "derogatory" remarks on the post under IT Act and other relevant laws for "undermining" judicial institution.

It also asked the SP Cyber Crime to block/freeze Th Brinda's Facebook account. However, her account is still active.

WHAT WAS HER POST ON FACE BOOK?

On March 25, THOUNAOJAM BRINDA wrote on her Face Book page- “All the judges, lawyers association and who not, are up arms against a small police officer for standing up against a gross injustice that affects the most critical public interest and which will decide the future of the children of Manipur.

I am proving how biased and compromised your sacrosanct Judge is and how she is desecrating the Court’s sanctum, abusing her position and power to influence the outcome of the case.

All of you are responsible for the pathetic state of affair in Manipur and what will take place in future. My middle finger tried to avert it by throwing the case to public as the biased and the powerful conspiracy behind it will never permit just and fair trial.

I asked you to respect law. Gave you a just case. You breached it from the pedestal of your temple. Bring it on baby, send me to jail. I am prepared for that. I will prove how biased you are, how you misinterpreted the laws and misinformed the parties and public in the entire course of the trial after you took up the case. And then, your coxed supporters will put their foot in their mouth.

You are a blot on the Indian Judiciary. I give you my Trudeau Salute once again and I am proud of that. And none can force me to honour a temple with shit in it.