Mysterious death of RIMS student : CBI probe demanded to unearth truth
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 18 2021: Piling the pressure on the State Government to unearth the truth, the Justice for Sanaton Athokpam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be roped in to investigate the mysterious death of Sanaton at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) .

Notably, the 22-year-old MBBS 5th semester student was found hung to death under mysterious circumstances inside his hostel room at RIMS on March 15 .

He was reportedly found hanging with both hands bound behind.

He was son of Athokpam Tikendra of Khurai Thangjam Leikai.

According to a family member, the postmortem was conducted on March 16, however the report detailing the nature of the death has not been released yet.

At a press meet called by the Justice for Sanaton Athokpam at Khurai Thangjam Leikai today, its convenor Moirangthem Loyalakpa said there is strong a suspicion that RIMS is trying to cover up the death and to find out the truth behind the death, CBI should be roped in at the earliest.

When family members of Sanaton and members of the Justice for Sanaton met Chief Minister N Biren Singh on March 16, he had assured them to solve the death case within 10-15 days.

However, "an order has been issued stating the case would be solved within one month".

Mysterious death of RIMS student : CBI probe demanded to unearth truth

Moreover, the family members and people are not happy with the Magisterial enquiry ordered instead of the judicial probe requested by the Justice for Sanaton.

Hence, the Government should hand over the case to the CBI.

"RIMS is a Central institute and it may try to cover up the case to save its face.

If the case is not solved and justice is denied, then parents in Manipur and other States may not feel safe sending their wards to this institution.

To find out the truth behind the death and deliver justice early to the family members, CBI should conduct the investigation," he said.

Stating that the case is becoming complicated with suspicion running high, Loyalakpa said that a police investigation has claimed that phone (call) records of two SIM cards of Sanaton were found blank when enquired with the telecom service providers concerned.

Above this, his phone/tablet device has not been found yet.

Stating there is suspicion that RIMS is trying to cover up the case, he said authorities concerned of the medical institution have not yet reached out to the family members.

The RIMS authority had delivered a paper to a 90-year-old family member and collected signature.

Apart from this, none from the authority has reached out to the family members, he said.

"When family members and functionaries of the Justice for Sanaton met the RIMS Director, he appeared rude instead of consoling the aggrieved family members.

This has added to the suspicion people already have," he added.

Loyalakpa further informed that the family members have decided not to claim the body pending the detailed report of the postmortem conducted.

This decision is to facilitate a second postmortem in case the report is not satisfactory.

The Justice for Sanaton also supports this decision of the family members, he said.

He also clarified that the compensation sought in the memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister doesn't mean monetary help or Government job.

The fitting compensation demanded means speedy investigation, finding out the truth and befitting punishment to all culprits involved and responsible according to law.

Meanwhile, United Front Manipur has also appealed the Government to solve the mysterious death of Sanaton and deliver justice to the family members at the earliest.

The front will support any movement to get justice for Sanaton, it added in a statement today.