Cheiraoching closed to climbers
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 13 2011:
In the backdrop of the police recovering the corpse of a young girl from Cheiraoching on September 11 morning, all activities in the said hill range without the approval of the local organisations has been totally prohibited with immediate effect.
The decision to prohibit ascending the hill range, which had been a popular location for morning joggers, was made at a joint media briefing by representatives of Naharol Leisemba Club and Tabung Pukhri Mapal Meira Paibi Lup, Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai.
It may be mentioned that, (apparently killed after rape) body of 16-year old class XI student of RK Sanatombi Vidyalaya Vasmi Khaleng d/o of Ngathinkhui of Paorei village in Ukhrul district was retrieved by a police team after her body was spotted by some locals.
During the interaction with newspersons, representatives of the two local organisations contemplated that the teenage girl might have been murder somewhere else and the body brought and dumped at the hill range.
Pointing out that a branch office of Universal Friendship Organisation (formerly SATJAL) is located at the same hill range and that its volunteers who always remain at the office campus will certainly hear if the murder was committed at the spot, the club and meira paibi activists did not rule out involvement of more than one individual in the criminal act.
Lamenting that the hill range revered by many as a religious/sacred spot had turned to a place for committing crime for there had been incidents of security force personnel taking up suspects and thrashing them on the higher reaches of the hill and even unlawful elements perpetrating serious crime.