On Sunday (1 October), Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that some of the main culprits responsible for the abduction and killing of two Meitei students from Imphal have been arrested from Churachandpur district. The tragic death of both the students – Phijam Hemjit (20) and Hijam Linthoingambi (17) – rose to prominence only after pictures of them surfaced on social media on 25 September.
The development comes as a result of a joint operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies and the support of the Indian Army, Paramilitary forces, Assam Rifles, and State Police.
Taking to X, the Manipur Chief Minister made this announcement and said, “I’m pleased to share that some of the main culprits responsible for the abduction and murder of Phijam Hemanjit and Hijam Linthoingambi have been arrested from Churachandpur today.”
The Chief Minister asserted that the state government would ensure that the culprits responsible for this heinous crime would receive the maximum punishment, including “capital punishment”.
He added, “As the saying goes, one may abscond after committing the crime, but they cannot escape the long hands of the law. We are committed to ensuring maximum punishment, including capital punishment, for the heinous crime they have committed.”
Reportedly a total of four persons have been arrested, and two minors have been detained in Imphal by the police in connection with the case. The arrested include two men and two women, while two minors are detained. The arrested persons have been shifted to Assam.
The four accused persons have been identified as Paominlun Haokip, Malsawn Haokip, Lhingneichong Baite and Tinneikhol. Lhingneichong Baite was a friend of Hijam Linthoingambi, the girl student who was murdered. One of the suspects is allegedly the wife of an insurgent group based in Churachandpur, as per sources. The two minors include a nine-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy.
In a joint operation, a crack unit of the Manipur Police and the Indian Army captured the suspects from Churachandpur district, the epicentre of the ethnic violence in Manipur. Soon after their arrests, they were moved to Imphal airport, from where they were flown to Guwahati by a CBI team.
It is notable that trials for cases related to Manpur violence including crimes against women, which are being probed by CBI, will be held in Assam. The Supreme Court has transferred all such cases to Assam in view of the prevailing situation in Manipur.
Earlier, this year, on 26 September, media reported that the state government had handed over the investigation regarding the disappearance of the two students to the CBI. Media reports added that they were abducted by Kuki militants.
A day later, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team, led by the agency’s Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, reached Imphal on a special flight to investigate this case.
Following the tragic news of their murder, fresh protests erupted in the state in which students in large numbers took to the streets demanding justice.
Both the Imphal students had been missing since July 6 but their pictures surfaced on social media a few days after the state government lifted restrictions on Internet services on 23 September. Notably, the Internet services in the state were first suspended in May, when violence first broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
Meanwhile, on Saturday (30 September), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a man named Seiminlun Gangte from Churachandpur who was allegedly involved in a conspiracy to exploit the current ethnic unrest in the state against the central government. The NIA stated that several terror organisations based in Myanmar and Bangladesh were behind the conspiracy.
On Sunday (1 September), speaking on Gangte’s arrest, Chief Minister N Biren Singh asserted that there was a larger conspiracy at play to wage war against India by foreign militants.
He said, “People used to say all kinds of things while talking about the crisis in Manipur. That it is an ethnic crisis, a religious crisis, a crisis between the minorities and majorities…even in the UN. However, after the NIA took over the case, it gave a press release yesterday that the clashes in Manipur is…’waging war against the Indian Union’ by the Kuki militants from Myanmar and Bangladesh along with some militants from India. It clearly shows that this is not a small thing.”
Manipur has been witnessing violence since May 3, following the protests against the High Court’s order asking the state government to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the category of Scheduled Tribes (ST).