Roadblock in restoring faith in judicial system
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: January 04, 2024 -

IN a significant development that may help in restoring faith of the people in the judicial system of the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed two separate chargesheets against five accused in connection with the inter-related cases of two missing students in Manipur, who were feared killed in the captivity of armed Kuki militants during the course of the ethnic conflict that has been going on between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities since May 3 last year.

The chargesheets were filed in a designated court of chief judicial magistrate of Kamrup (Metro) in Guwahati on Tuesday against five accused in two inter-related cases of Manipur relating to kidnapping of the two students, namely, 20-year-old boy, identified as Phijam Hemanjit Singh, and a 17-year-old girl, identified as Linthoingambi Hijam, and their suspected murder in the captivity of armed Kuki militants.

Giving a sequence of events before the two students went missing, the investigation agency said in its chargesheets that the boy went to the tuition class of the girl on July 6, and after picking her up on his motorcycle, proceeded towards Bishnupur side.

From there, they rode towards Old Cachar Road. They were intercepted by a group of people and "held captive by the five accused" named in the chargesheets.

The accused forcibly put them in a vehicle and took them to an undisclosed location, where they were "suspectedly killed".

Among the accused, Paolunmang was arrested from Pune, while Paominlun Haokip, Smalsawm Haokip and Lhingneichong Baitekuki were arrested from Churachandpur district. Nohgin Baitekuki is on the run.

The parents of the missing teenagers had filed first information reports (FIRs) with the Imphal police and the Lamphel police on July 8 and July 19, respectively.

The girl's father had alleged the boy may have kidnapped his daughter to marry her without consent, while the boy's father alleged his son may have been abducted by miscreants.

Considering the fact that the CBI is currently investigating over 27 cases that were earlier probed by the Manipur police, filing of two separate chargesheets against the five accused in connection with the inter-related cases of two missing students in Manipur within four months of taking over the investigation is indeed appreciable.

The fate of the two students, who went missing since July 6 last, remained unknown until some photographs surfaced on social media in last week of September, 2023.

In one of the photos, which went viral on social media within days of restoring the mobile internet service that had remaining shut following the outbreak of violent clashes between the Meetei/Meitei and Kuki-Chin communities on May 3 last, the two missing students were seen sitting on the ground in fear with armed men in the background while another photo shows their lifeless bodies slumped beside a boulder, thus confirming the worst fear of their families, who had been running from pillar to post to save their kids but without much success.

Sensing the anger of the people, the Chief Minister's Secretariat quickly came out with a statement urging the people to exercise restraint and let the authorities handle investigation of the case.

With tension running high after many angry students, who came out on the streets demanding justice, suffered injuries in crackdown by security personnel, Union Home Minister Amit Shah promptly despatched a team of CBI officials led by Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar on September 27 last to investigate the kidnapping and subsequent murder of the two students.

The CBI team managed to arrest five accused for their alleged involvement in the case and they have been in the custody of the agency since then. If not for the service of CBI, the case may not have seen the light of the day.

However, despite filing of the chargesheets against the accused, the bodies of the two students are yet to be recovered and handed over to their respective families for performing their last rites.

This is one of the biggest roadblocks that might still stand in the way of restoring the faith of people in the judicial system of the country fully.