Imphal: Ajay Bhatnagar, the Special Director of the CBI, headed a special team that arrived in Imphal on Wednesday to speed up the investigation into the murders of the two young students, according to officials.
The Manipur administration had previously declared that the CBI has been handed over the case involving the murder of two young students and that the security forces had also started a search operation to find those responsible.
Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said in a post on X: “In light of the distressing news that emerged regarding the tragic demise of the missing students, I want to assure the people of the state that both the state and Central government are closely working to nab the perpetrators.”
The arrival of the special CBI team underscores the commitment of the authorities to swiftly resolve this matter, he said.
“I have been constantly in touch with Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” the Chief Minister said.
An official from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said that it has come to the notice of the state government that photos of the victims, identified as Phijam Hemjit (20) and Hijam Linthoingambi (17), who were missing since July 6, had surfaced on social media on Monday.
To protest the killings of the two students, hundreds of students have been agitating in Imphal and other areas of the state for the past two days.
At least 100 students, including girls, have been injured during the agitations in two days after they clashed with the security forces, who prevented them from marching towards the Chief Minister's bungalow.
The security forces used tear gas shells and smoke bombs to disperse the agitating students.
Manipur Police, CRPF and Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed in large numbers throughout the Imphal Valley in anticipation of possible violence.
Seventeen-year-old girl student Hijam Linthoingambi and 20-year-old Phijam Hemjit had gone missing on July 6 during the height of ethnic violence in Manipur.
Their families suspected that they had been killed by armed assailants. Both the deceased students hailed from Bishnupur district.
In view of the students’ agitations, the state government shut all schools in the state till September 29.
The state government on Tuesday also re-imposed the ban on mobile internet services till 7.45 p.m. on October 1 to prevent the spread of misinformation and rumours.
On September 23, the internet ban was lifted after more than four months of imposition on May 3 when the ethnic riots began.
With inputs from IANS