Manipur, stricken by ethnic violence and rampant protests since 3 May, erupted after a seeming lull, when images of two teenagers who had been missing for months, surfaced online as dead bodies, murdered. The two teenagers’ death triggered fresh violent protests , this time involving participation from Manipur’s student community.
On Saturday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that the armed assailants, visibly blurred in the viral images will be captured. “Definitely, we will catch the culprits. Everything will be fine soon,” Manipur CM said on the CBI team investigating the death of the two youth.
Continuous protests in Manipur that began on 3 May, had led to the state government to suspend mobile internet services for five days till 1 October.
A CBI team, led by the agency’s Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar arrived in Imphal in a special flight on Wednesday to investigate the alleged “kidnapping and killing” of the two students.
In cases registered or transferred to the CBI, teams have to visit the scene of the crime, recreate the scene, collect forensic evidence, and send it to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
“To ensure speedy investigation and keeping the safety of CBI officials on priority, CRPF personnel will accompany them during their visits in violence-hit areas for investigation purposes,” the official added.
The two youths had reportedly gone missing in Manipur on 6 July.
Following the incident, fresh protests erupted in the state on September 25 after a video showing their bodies went viral on social media.
At present, CBI has registered 11 FIRs, including the viral video of two young tribal women paraded naked. The investigation of all the cases is underway.
Authorities relaxed curfew in Imphal East and Imphal West districts from 5 am to 11 am to help people buy essential items and medicines on Friday. With no violence reported during the day, the government lifted the curfew in the two districts from 5 am to 2 pm on Saturday.