Amit Shah vows killers of 2 Manipuri students will be punished as CBI begins probe

As Manipur remains on the boil over the killing of two students, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed.

That the perpetrators will be arrested and punished, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Wednesday. N Biren Singh stated that both the central and state governments are treating the case with the utmost seriousness. He disclosed that Home Minister Amit Shah had personally called him, assuring that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would probe the case thoroughly.

Relating his conversation with the Home Minister, N Biren Singh said Shah told him that this case has to be dealt with very seriously and those responsible have to be booked as per the law of the land. The Home Minister assured that “no one will be spared”.

A team of CBI officials, led by the agency’s Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, reached Manipur’s capital Imphal on Wednesday and began investigating the crime. The focus of the central probe agency will be identifying the scene of crime, retrieving the bodies and nailing the perpetrators, PTI reported, citing sources.

Meanwhile, a BJP mandal office in Thoubal district was set on fire by a mob on Wednesday. The mob destroyed the office gate, shattered windows, and damaged the windshield of a vehicle parked within the premises.

Protestors also resorted to burning tyres and blocking the Indo-Myanmar highway using wooden logs and unused electric poles.

The situation escalated as law enforcement agencies fired tear gas shells, mock bombs, and live bullets to disperse the crowd, who retaliated with slingshots and stones.

In light of the prevailing law and order situation, the Manipur government has declared the entire state a “disturbed area”. As per the state government’s notification, the entire state, except for 19 specific police station areas, was declared a “disturbed area” under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).