Kuki body in city raises question on reports of killing of 2 missing students
KSO Shillong says the reports were to divert attention from the 2 women's case
Shillong, Sep 26 (Agencies & Bureau): Two students from Manipur who went missing on July 6 were killed, according to photographs surfacing on social media. Local as well as national media have been flashing the news since Tuesday morning and there were reports that the duo were allegedly killed by suspected Kuki militants.
However, Meghalaya Monitor examined the social media posts, spoke to sources and received documents which raised several questions about the incident.
The students were identified as Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemjit. One picture showed the two sitting. Two men were seen standing at a distance behind the victims. The resolution of the photograph posted on social media is not high enough to recognise the faces of the two persons standing or whether they were carrying weapons. Another photograph showed two bodies. The clothes in both the photos were the same. Some media reports said that the Chief Minister’s Office confirmed that the bodies were of Luwangbi Linthoingambi Hijam (17) and Phijam Hemanjit Singh (20).
However, an FIR by Hijam Kulajit Singh, father of Luwangbi Linthoingambi, said his daughter was kidnapped by Hemanjit Singh on July 6. “It is highly suspected that his daughter is now kept and concealed at an unknown place in collusion with the parents. Hence the case,” the FIR read.
The father, in his complaint, said his daughter attended Physics tuition at a coaching centre at Keishampat Mutum Leikei. He dropped his daughter at the tuition centre at 7 am but she did not return even after the class was over. After his failed attempts to get through to his daughter, Kulajit Singh checked the footage from the CCTV camera installed at the Manipur Rural Bank. The footage showed that his daughter left with Hemanjit Singh on a bike.
There was another post that was circulating on social media that hinted at the honour killing of the two youths. The post by Eramdam E-Pao — Meghalaya Monitor could not verify the authenticity of this group and when it tried to call the number given on Facebook, it said the dialled number was wrong — said the youths were killed by Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei group. Recently, the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi, accused the Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun of instigating violence in Manipur.
“The whole incident is an attempt to divert the attention of the entire nation from the atrocities against the two Kuki women (who were raped, assaulted and paraded naked),” said the president of the Kuki Student Organisation, Shillong, Dr Jangkhohao Hangshing.
(Read: ‘Displaced people from Manipur not getting enough support’)
A source pointed out that Kukis could not even go to the valleys, ” then how can they abduct two persons from there”?
A press release from the Manipur CMO urged citizens of the state to “exercise restraint” as the case of the disappearance of the two youths was already handed over to the CBI.
There were reports of protests in Manipur after the photographs surfaced.
