Girl found raped and murdered, suspect held
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 06 2014:
An 8-year old girl was found dead.
The deceased is suspected to have been raped and murdered by a 24-year-old youth in Imphal West district's Tharoijam Maning Leikai under Patsoi police station at around 9.30 last night.
Chingangbam Samjai (24) s/o (L) Ingocha of Tharoijam Maning Leikai, who has been accused of committing the crime, was hospitalised in a serious condition after he was thrashed by an irate mob today.
According to the aunt of the minor girl, she was studying in nearby Charai Nung Sanglen School, Salam in Class-I.After she returned from school yesterday, the girl went to deliver tea to her mother, who was working in a paddy field at Haorang Lamjao, at around 3.30 pm.
The aunt said that although the girl did not return home till late evening, she thought that the girl would come back with her mother.
However, the girl did not come back with her mother, the aunt said and added that the mother instead enquired about the girl why she did not come to the paddy field.
Only then, they realised that something wrong had happened and started searching for the girl.
After the family alerted the villagers, they launched an intensive search for the girl using loud speakers thinking that the girl might have been guided away by 'Helloi' (evil spirit) .
Later at around 9.30 pm, the little girl was found dead in a drain, 50 meters from the house of Samjai at Tharoijam Maning Leikai on an intervillage road leading towards the paddy field.
The girl ' s face was found covered with her phanek and there was a grievous injury on her forehead suspected to be created by a hard object.
A piece, of brick with blood stains and the tea container were recovered from near the body of the girl.
A team of Patsoi police station conducted inquest of the area in the presence of a Duty Magistrate last night itself and-prevented anybody to venture near the body till today morning.
After a team of forensic experts examined the incident site,' the body was taken to RIMS morgue, where a post mortem examination was conducted today.
On the other hand, Tharoijam villagers formed a JAC in a public meeting held at Tharoijam Maning Leikai community hall today.
Later, they checked all the male members of the village who are at the age group of 15 to 50 years whether they had any brush marks on their body.
A local club member said that they also collected finger prints of these male villagers.
In the course of the check, behaviour and response of Ngangbam Samjai immediately attracted the suspicion of the club members.
Although, Samjai told the club members that he was with his friends last night, his friends denied Samjai's claim.
After an intensive questioning.
Samjai was provided a khudei (male loin cloth) and asked to leave his pant in the club.
Samjai returned home after changing his pant with the khudei.
After some time, he tried to escape from the back side of his house towards a paddy field.
However, locals, who were monitoring his moves, immediately sounded an alarm and the villagers caught him.
The villagers thrashed him badly before a police team rescued and rushed him to RIMS hospital in a critical condition.
While Samjai was in the custody of villagers, he confessed that he had committed the crime and the villagers took videos of his confession.
He is undergoing treatment in RIMS hospital while the body of the girl has been handed over to family members after conducting post mortem examination.