Imphal residents Hijam Linthoingami (17) and Phijam Hemjit (20) went missing on July 6. After months of waiting with dread, their parents’ worst nightmare came true when two photographs emerged confirming that they had been killed, a development which prompted the state government to announce that ‘swift and decisive’ action will be taken against the perpetrators.
The deaths led to fresh protests by Meiteis in the valley areas of strife-torn Manipur on Tuesday, and mobile internet services, which had been restored just days ago after nearly five months, were snapped once again in the evening. A Home Department order said the mobile internet services would remain shut for the next five days.
One of the photos that emerged shows the two youngsters sitting next to each other outdoors, with two men carrying arms standing behind them. The second purportedly shows their bodies slumped on the ground next to each other, with Hemjit’s head missing.
‘Her gaze in that photo, I’ve never seen that before. It pains me a lot. Such a deep look filled with love and emotion… Why did they kill two children?’ Kulajit Hijam, Linthoingambi’s father, told The Indian Express at his home in Imphal on Tuesday, a day after the photographs surfaced.
Birodini Devi, Hemjit’s mother, said she had lost hope of him returning home alive. ‘There was no proof that they had been murdered, so although we suspected it, we could not perform any rituals. Yesterday’s photos confirm he was killed. All I want now is for authorities to hand over even a bone or piece of clothing for the last rites,’ she said.
Soon after the photographs surfaced, the Chief Minister’s Secretariat issued a statement confirming that the two people seen in the photo were the two missing youngsters, and that the case in question had already been transferred to the CBI.
‘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,’ it said.
However, for the families of the two, the wait for answers – and their bodies – has been a long one already. ‘When we complained to the police, they simply told us they had gone into a Kuki-dominated area where they (police personnel) have no capacity to enter. We were asked to consult higher authorities. We met the Chief Minister, Governor and Security Advisor. They promised that action would be taken but nothing was done. Had the government functionaries been proactive, the children could have been traced and the miscreants arrested,’ said Birodini Devi.
According to statements given by Linthoingami’s family to the police, she would attend classes every morning at a coaching centre in Keishampat Mutum Leikai. However, on July 6 she did not return by the usual time of 8.30 am. When her father Hijam Kulajit Singh tried calling her, she said she was coming home, but a few minutes later, her phone was switched off. When CCTV footage from the area showed that she had left with Hemjit on his motorbike, the family filed a police complaint against him for kidnapping her. On July 8, an FIR was registered against Hemjit at Imphal police station.
However, it soon became clear that both the youngsters were in trouble after it came to light that the last known location of Hijam’s phone was Lamdan in Churachandpur district, and Hemjit’s family also approached the police. This case subsequently became one of the 11 cases of violence against women and children that were transferred to the CBI in August, soon after the case of three Kuki-Zomi women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted came to light in late July.
Incidentally, of those 11 cases, this is the only one in which the victims are from the Meitei community.
Widespread protests, meanwhile, broke out across Imphal on Tuesday demanding justice for the two youngsters. During the day, the protesters, including students from schools and colleges in Imphal, began marching towards the Chief Minister’s bungalow. They were pushed back by police and Rapid Action Force with the use of tear gas shells.
In the evening, protests grew louder still, particularly in the Singjamei area where security forces once again used tear gas shells. Officials estimate that more than 40 people were injured during the course of the day. The Education Department also notified that schools in the state will remain closed on Wednesday and Friday owing to the ‘prevailing law and order situation’, while Thursday is a public holiday.
In the evening, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said: ‘In light of the distressing news that emerged yesterday 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 together to nab the perpetrators. To further expedite this crucial investigation, the CBI Director, along with a specialised team, will be arriving in Imphal tomorrow morning in a special flight. Their presence underscores the commitment of our authorities to swiftly resolve this matter. I have been constantly in touch with Hon’ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.’
A team of 10 officers, along with the CBI Special Director, will leave Delhi for Manipur in a special flight Wednesday morning. Joint Director Ghanshyam Upadhyay will join them in Manipur, sources said.
Twenty-four Meitei MLAs also wrote to the Union Home Minister, asking that the CBI be directed to ‘take up expeditious action’ to book the guilty ‘as was similarly done earlier in the viral video case’ – referring to the stripping and sexual assault of three Kuki-Zomi women.
The same reference was made by Kulajit, Linthoingambi’s father: ‘If the government is really committed, I want justice to be delivered within seven days – just as done when the women were paraded naked.’
