Two students, missing since July 6 during the state's ethnic violence peak, are suspected to have met with foul play.
Today in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, a large group of students gathered in protest against the brutal killing of two students, including a minor, allegedly at the hands of armed individuals. They voiced their demand for justice on behalf of the victims.
Attempting to march toward Chief Minister N Biren Singh's residence, the students encountered a response from security forces who employed tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse the crowd. This action resulted in numerous students sustaining injuries, prompting them to be promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention.
This commotion followed the circulation of images depicting the lifeless bodies of the two students on social media platforms. These images started circulating shortly after the restoration of mobile internet services in the state, ending a nearly five-month-long ban.
The disappearance of the two students occurred on July 6, amid heightened ethnic tensions within the state, and there is a strong suspicion that they may have met with a tragic fate.
The photographs reveal the two students, a 17-year-old girl, and a 20-year-old man, seated within the grassy enclosure of what seems to be a jungle associated with an armed group.
In a subsequent image, their lifeless bodies are depicted, kept on the ground.
Concurrently, the Manipur government has appealed to the public for patience and urged them to permit the authorities to conduct a thorough inquiry into the abduction and tragic demise of the two individuals. A statement from the secretariat of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, released late on Monday night, conveyed that the case has already been entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).