Imphal: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested four people, including two women, for their alleged role in the abduction and murder of two Meitei students in Manipur in July.
The suspects were identified as Paominlun Haokip, S Malsawn Haokip, Lhingneichong Baite and Tinnuphing and were arrested from the tribal-dominated hill district of Churachandpur, reports The Hindu.
They were flown out of the state to Guwahati in a special flight by a joint team of the CBI and Manipur Police.
Chief Minister Biren Singh said that the government was committed to ensuring maximum punishment for the guilty, including capital punishment, for the “heinous crime”.
“I’m pleased to share that some of the main culprits responsible for the abduction and murder of the students have been arrested from Churachandpur today. 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,” Mr. Singh posted on X (formerly Twitter).
During the operation leading to their arrest, personnel of the Army, paramilitary forces such as the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force, as well as the State police played a major role, he said.
One of the suspects Ms. Lhingneichong, who had children aged nine and 11, was also detained along with their mother and flown to Guwahati.
The children were later handed over to the District Child Protection Officer of Assam’s Kamrup Metro district, the CBI said.
Meanwhile, the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) said in a statement that two of the suspects, Malsawm and Paominlun, are neither cadres of any militant group or have any involvement in the said murder case. “They are president and general secretary of KSO Leimata Block respectively,” it said.
The student body said that it supports the call for an indefinite shutdown in Churachandpur from October 2 by other tribal bodies such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) against the arbitrary arrests.
The two Meitei students had disappeared in July. Photos of their deceased bodies had surfaced on social media last week, which led to massive protests in the state, leaving many injured.
This was one of the 11 cases involving women and children that were handed over to the CBI in July, reports The Hindu.
A team of CBI officials, led by the agency’s Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, had reached Manipur and started investigating the killings on September 27.
Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey on September 29 visited the family members of the deceased.
At least 175 people have been killed since May 3 in the ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the Meitei community in Manipur.