NEW DELHI, Oct 1: Four people were arrested in connection with the “kidnapping and killing” of two Manipuri youths, which led to violent protests in the north-eastern state last week, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Sunday.
“With the support of Indian army, paramilitary forces, Assam rifles and state police; 4 accused have been arrested by CBI”, Singh said. The four included
two men and two women, apart from the two girls who have been detained in the state capital Imphal. The four have been flown to Guwahati in Assam. The accused have been identified as Paominlun Haokip, Malsawn Haokip, Lhingneichong Baite and Tinneikhol.
Claiming that it was a “big achievement,” Mr Singh said the culprits responsible for the abduction and murder of Phijam Hemanjit and Hijam Linthoingambi have been arrested from Churachandpur.
The two youths, a boy and a girl, had gone missing on July 6. Photos of their bodies surfaced on September 25. Following this, violent protests by students rocked the state capital on September 26 and 27. A mob tried to attack the ancestral house of the chief minister on the night of September 28, but security forces foiled the attempt.
Another mob also vandalised the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West district and torched two four-wheelers in the early hours of the same day.
(Manas Dasgupta)
