Manipur: Photos of two missing students’ bodies go viral; govt responds
CMO says the case had been handed over to the CBI, promises swift and decisive action against all those involved in the crime
Soon after mobile internet connection was restored in strife-torn Manipur, photos of the bodies of two students who had been missing since July went viral on social media.
The Manipur government has responded to the incident in a statement issued on Monday (September 25). The government identified the two students as Phijam Hemjit, 20, and Hijam Linthoingambi,17, while promising “swift and decisive action” against all those involved in their alleged kidnapping and murder.
Two photos of the missing students surfaced on social media. One of the two photos purportedly showed the students with two armed men in the frame and the other one was of two bodies.
The two students went missing on July 6.
The police had previously said that the whereabouts of the two were not known and their mobile phones were found switched off.
The last location of their handsets was traced at Lamdan near the winter flower tourist spot in the Churachandpur district, they had said earlier.
In its statement, the Manipur chief minister’s office (CMO) said that the case had already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) “as per the wishes of the people of the state”.
The government statement continued, “State police, in collaboration with the central security agencies, are actively investigating the case to determine the circumstances surrounding their disappearance and to identify the perpetrators who murdered the two students. The security forces have also started the search operation to nab the perpetrators.”
“In response to this distressing situation, the government assures the public that swift and decisive action will be taken against all those involved in the kidnapping and killing of Phijam Hemjit and Hijam Linthoingambi. The government is committed to ensuring justice prevails and will impose severe punishment on any perpetrators found responsible for this heinous crime,” said the statement.
“The Government encourages the public to exercise restraint and to let the authorities handle the investigation,” the statement concluded.
Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence since the first week of May this year after an order by the state high court told the state government to consider including the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes. The violence resulted in about 175 deaths, sexual crimes against women, burning of religious places and homes, several hundred injured, and arms and ammunition being stolen from police armouries in the state.
Security personnel have been put on alert, and additional measures taken to prevent any incident after the photos of the students went viral, a senior officer said.
(With inputs from agencies)