Delhi, 07 August (H.S.): The Central government has informed the Supreme Court that the alleged audio clip involving former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, which was claimed to contain remarks inciting violence in the state, had been tampered with. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, submitted this information before the apex court.

During the hearing, Bhati said that the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, had submitted its report on the authenticity of the audio clip. According to the report, the recording had been altered multiple times. The Centre also requested that the petition be dismissed with costs.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the National Forensic Sciences University to conduct a forensic examination of the alleged audio clip involving N. Biren Singh. During the hearing, petitioner’s counsel Prashant Bhushan had stated that he was ready to submit the complete audio recording before the court. Earlier, the petitioner had relied only on a nearly 48-minute-long audio clip. However, the forensic university had raised questions over the authenticity of the 48-minute recording.

Ethnic violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023. The petition was filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan had sought an investigation into the alleged role of N. Biren Singh in the Manipur violence.

Bhushan had described the audio clip as highly serious, claiming that it allegedly contained remarks by N. Biren Singh suggesting that the Meitei community was allowed to loot arms and ammunition from the state government’s armouries.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar