Centre’s Forensic Report on ‘Manipur Tapes’ Implicating Biren Singh Ready

Forensic Report to Be Submitted to Supreme Court ‘Soon’

April 18, 2025

Weeks before the second anniversary of the outbreak of violence in Manipur, the Union government has informed the Supreme Court that a forensic report on the leaked audio recordings—referred to as the “Manipur Tapes” and allegedly featuring former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, implicating him in the unrest—is ready and will soon be submitted in a sealed envelope.

The report, prepared by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), was requested by the top court to verify the authenticity of the tapes.

On April 17, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, leading the Bench, acknowledged the Centre’s statement and decided to postpone the hearing to the week beginning May 5, two days after the second anniversary of the violence, as reported by PTI.

The petition was filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has accused the former chief minister of inciting and orchestrating violence against the Kuki-Zo community.

CJI Khanna, while acknowledging the gravity of the claims, reportedly said that the court would wait for the CFSL report and keep the matter on hold for now. He also mentioned that the court would later consider whether the case should be handled by the Supreme Court itself or be passed to a high court.

The recording was released to the public by The Wire in August 2024.

On Sept. 4, 2024, Advocate Bhushan submitted a detailed letter to the official Commission of Inquiry into the Manipur Violence of 2023, chaired by Justice Ajai Lamba. Accompanying the letter was the 48-minute audio recording, presented as crucial evidence. In it, Bhushan requested that a First Information Report (FIR) be filed against Singh.

According to Bhushan, the recording contains admissions by Singh of deploying heavy bombs and using arms looted from state armouries against the areas predominantly inhabited by the Kuki-Zo minority community. His letter charged that under Singh’s direction, state forces and machinery were complicit in perpetuating violence against the Kuki-Zo people. He further alleged that Singh’s actions supported terrorists and antisocial elements in intensifying the conflict and hindered justice in instances of rape and other atrocities committed against the Kuki-Zo.

An independent “truth lab” had already authenticated the voice in the recordings with 93 percent certainty, identifying it as Singh’s. Bhushan argued that the reliability of such private labs often exceeded that of government-run forensic services like CFSL.

In November 2023, under then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the court had directed KOHUR to provide material supporting the claims made in the audio leaks. Bhushan had then offered to file the recordings in CD format for examination. His argument has consistently been that the State machinery was complicit in the attacks against Kuki Zo communities and that only a top-level, court-monitored probe would be able to uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy.

Singh resigned on Feb. 9, the day before a no-confidence motion was scheduled in the state legislature, aware that he would not be able to prove a majority in the house. The resignation came after a prolonged period of unrest that started on May 3, 2023, amid a conflict over land rights and identity between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo tribal communities.

Manipur is predominantly home to three ethnic communities: the majority Meitei, who reside in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes, who live in the surrounding hills.

The violence was triggered after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was held in protest against a Manipur High Court directive that had appeared to favour granting Scheduled Tribe status to Meiteis. This designation would enable them to buy land in the hills, a region traditionally occupied by the Kuki-Zo tribes, thereby igniting concerns among the Kuki-Zo about the potential loss of their ancestral lands.

The region inhabited by the Kuki-Zo community is rich in natural resources. Successive state and central governments have attempted to amend laws to permit national and international corporations to extract these resources, including oil and gas.

Since May 3, 2023, at least 226 Kuki-Zo individuals have been killed and tens of thousands displaced, according to the Kuki Students Organisation’s Media and Documentation Cell. Meitei organisations have not disclosed their casualty figures.

President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on Feb. 13, three days after Singh’s resignation, yet the Central government has not proposed any plan for justice and accountability.

The total ethnic segregation between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei regions, which emerged during the initial days of the violence, remains unchanged nearly two years later. The displaced individuals also continue to be displaced.

The Kuki-Zo community has been advocating for a separate administration for their areas, specifically in the form of a Union territory with a legislature.