Finance
New Delhi: As Manipur continues to battle a fresh round of violence, the Union Home Ministry today repatriated top Srinagar police official Rakesh Balwal to the northeastern state.
Fresh violence erupted in Manipur this week over the brutal killings of two students, one of whom was a minor, who went missing in July.
The Centre, in an order, has directed Mr. Balwal, a 2012-batch IPS officer of Manipur cadre posted in Jammu and Kashmir, to return prematurely for deployment in the northeastern state, which has been experiencing violence since May this year.
Violent protests in Manipur over the death of the two students continued into the early hours of today, with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers. Protesters and security forces clashed in Uripok, Yaiskul, Sagolband, and Tera last night, forcing security personnel to fire multiple rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Brutal Killings Of Students
On Tuesday, photos emerged on social media showing the bodies of two students who went missing in July. An armed group photographed the two students, Phijam Hemjit (20) and Hijam Linthoingambi (17), sitting at a makeshift jungle camp.
The girl wears a white t-shirt in the photo, while the boy is seen with a backpack and dressed in a checkered shirt. Two men armed with guns are also clearly visible behind them. The next photo shows their bodies slumped on the ground.
Unknown individuals last saw the two students in Bishnupur district, 35 kilometers from Churachandpur – the district where the first instance of violence in Manipur erupted in May. Armed men allegedly kidnapped them from the area between the two districts and took them to Churachandpur.
Aftermath
Pictures of the two students went viral on social media, sparking massive protests in Manipur. In state capital Imphal, hundreds of students marched towards Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s residence, forcing the state police to use riot gear and tear gas to pacify the agitation.
Police personnel clashed with several students, resulting in injuries. The injured students were promptly taken to hospitals for medical treatment.
The protests forced the Manipur government to re-impose the internet ban in the state. The ban will be in effect till Sunday.
In a late-night tweet on Tuesday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh assured people that his government is working with Centre to bring the culprits behind the killings to justice.
“The central and state governments are very serious about this case. Union Home Minister Amit Shah-ji called me up yesterday evening and told me that he is sending a CBI team on a special flight to investigate the particular case,” Mr Singh said.
A CBI team, led by Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, arrived in Imphal on Wednesday afternoon to investigate the murders.
