New Delhi: The Manipur government on Monday (November 20) informed the Supreme Court that is had allocated Rs 5 crore in a dedicated bank account to disburse compensation to women who faced sexual assault and other crimes in Manipur after the state was engulfed in violence on May 3.
The affidavit does not specify the number of women who will be compensated through these funds, nor does it say how many have been compensated so far.
The compensation for victims who have lost their lives or those who have been gangraped ranges from Rs 5 lakh-10 lakh. For other crimes, including rape, sexual assault, and injuries such as loss of limbs or body parts, compensation amounts vary from Rs 1 lakh-Rs 9 lakh, the Hindu reported.
However, there is no clarity so far on the criterion adopted by the government officials in deciding compensation within these ranges on a case-to-case basis.
Also read: In Manipur, Violence Against Women, Impunity, and Apathy Show a Familiar Pattern of Events
Identification of religious buildings
The Supreme Court in September had asked the Manipur government to “immediately identify all religious buildings in the State which would include churches, Hindu temples, Sanamahi temples, mosques and any building of any other religion, whether existing at present or vandalised/damaged/burnt in the violence” and asked that they be protected from encroachment and destruction.
In the government’s October 16 response, it had indicated the steps taken in this regard in all the 16 districts. “It was further submitted that inspection of religious sites could not be completed in Noney and Senapati districts due to the prevailing circumstances.”
However, in its latest response, the government said that the identification exercise had been completed in the said districts and no vandalism was reported in Noney and Senapati.
In August, the state had informed the apex court that “a total of 386 religious institutions of both the communities have suffered damage subject to further assessment which is on-going,” the Hindu reported.
Over 200 lives have been lost and more than 75,000 persons have been internally displaced in the violence that began nearly six months ago and continues to flare up sporadically.