Security personnel stand guard during a protest rally by school students against the killing of two Meitei youths by suspected Kuki Zo militants, at Moirangkhom in Imphal West district, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
A special team of the CBI on Wednesday began a "spot investigation" into the murder of two Meitei students in Manipur amid strong protests in the Imphal Valley that prompted the administration to reimpose full curfew.
The five-member CBI team headed by special director Ajay Bhatnagar landed in Imphal in a special flight on Wednesday afternoon and rushed to the areas that separate Meitei-dominated Bishnupur and Kuki-dominated Churachandpur, where the victims, one boy and a girl, reportedly went missing on July 6.
The CBI team was rushed as the Imphal Valley erupted in protest on Tuesday, hours after two photographs, one showing the bodies of the victims, were shared on social media.
In one photo, Phijam Hemjit (20), the boy, and Hijam Linthoingambi (17), the girl, were seen sitting together with armed men standing behind them. In the second photograph, the two were seen lying inside a jungle and the head of the boy was seen missing. It is suspected that "armed miscreants" belonging to the Kukis had abducted the duo and murdered them. The students hailed from Imphal and remained missing since July 6.
Several students were injured on Wednesday when security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse them as they tried to block several roads. There are reports that a mob even set fire to an office of the ruling BJP in the Meitei-dominated Thoubal district.
Rajkumar Somorendra, a popular Manipuri film actor resigned from the BJP in protest against the government's alleged failure to trace the missing students. He also condemned the action by the security forces on the protesters on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As the pressure grew on the BJP government, Chief Minister N Biren Singh told reporters in Imphal on Wednesday evening that the government would take "stringent action" against those involved in the crime. He said Home Minister Amit Shah is in touch with him and monitoring the situation. Singh also assured that an investigation would also be undertaken against reports about the use of lethal weapons by the Central security forces against the protesters.
The state government on Tuesday reimposed the ban on mobile internet and closed the schools as the situation turned tense again in Imphal Valley. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was extended for another six months, from October 1, barring areas under 19 police stations in Imphal Valley.
More than 175 people have been killed and over 60,000 others have been displaced due to the clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis since May 3. Mobile internet was restored on September 23 after nearly five months as the law and order situation improved. But the fresh tension has made the state government as well as the security agencies worried again.