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Manipur CMN Birin Singh said the government will do its best to impose the death penalty on the accused. (photo: PTI)
‘Zero FIR’ was introduced in 2013 on the recommendations of the Justice Verma Commission, which was formed after the Nirbhaya case for amendments to the Criminal Code relating to sexual assault of women
A ‘zero FIR’ was filed at Kangpokpi Police Station in Manipur on May 18, two weeks after two tribal women were paraded naked – a video of them went viral – and one of them was allegedly gang-banged.
The location of the incident is in Thoubal district, 67 km from where the complaint was filed, but “zero FIR” can be registered regardless of the jurisdiction and region of occurrence. The complaint was subsequently referred to the Thoubal police station.
How did “zero FIR” appear?
Days after the chilling Delhi case, or Nirbhaya case, the government led by Manmohan Singh in December 2012 set up a three-member panel headed by retired judge JS Verma. He was to recommend amendments to the criminal code for speedy trials and harsher punishment in extreme cases of sexual abuse of women.
The committee submitted its report within 30 days, which was placed before the then Chief Minister Manmohan Singh in January 2013. Following the recommendations, the central government introduced the concept of “zero FIR” to eliminate complexities related to jurisdiction determination of the crime.
What does “ZERO FIR” mean?
A ‘zero FIR’, or FIR without a number, can be filed by the victim or the victim’s family members at any police station across India. Then the FIR is sent to the respective police station. According to the committee’s report, the sexual assault case should be promptly investigated and prosecuted.
In the case of conflict zones, specifically where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is enforced, the committee recommended that the need to specifically punish members of the armed forces in the case of an allegation of a sexual offense be excluded. It added that special witness protection should be provided to complainants and victims.
According to the latest development in the Manipur sexual assault case, four people, including the main accused, who were part of the mob, were arrested on Thursday. The video of the incident was allegedly filmed on May 4, the day after racial violence erupted in the state following the “Tribal Solidarity March” to protest the Mitte community’s claim to scheduled tribal status.
There was tension in the state, which is witnessing violence, after the video clip appeared on Wednesday. It showed two women from one of the warring communities being paraded topless by a mob from the other side. They were also alleged to have been sexually assaulted prior to their release by the mob.
Prime Minister N Biren Singh expressed his “shock” over the incident and called it a “crime against humanity”. “We will do our best to impose the death penalty on all the accused,” he said, adding that “the search for the perpetrators began immediately after watching the video.”
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