UKHRUL: The prime suspect in the alleged abduction and murder of two Meitei students in July 2023 has been apprehended by the Assam Rifles. Security forces also detained two other active cadres of the United Kuki National Army (UKNA) and seized weapons from their possession.
The prime suspect, identified as Nokjaging Baite alias Tiger (38), a key member of the UKNA, along with the two other cadres, was apprehended on May 22 from Ngathal village in Churachandpur. Baite has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency probing the killing of the two students.
The two Meitei students, Phijam Hemanjit (20) and Hijam Lingthoinganbi (17), had been missing since July 6, 2023. Suspicions that the two had been murdered by armed groups grew rapidly after photos of their alleged dead bodies surfaced in September 2023. In response to public outrage and mounting concerns, the case was handed over to the CBI.
A month after the incident, in October 2023, the CBI arrested four persons from Henglep in Churachandpur, identified as Paominlun Haokip, S Malsawn Haokip, Lhingneichong Baite and Tinnuphing, in connection with the case. The agency, however, accused Nokjaging Baite of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, causing the disappearance of evidence, harbouring offenders, and abduction. A CBI court in Guwahati issued a non-bailable warrant against the accused on June 26, 2024, subsequently declaring him a proclaimed offender.
According to officials, the accused is also wanted for several major violent crimes committed during the ethnic violence in the state, including the blowing up of an electric tower in Kangpokpi in 2023; an attack on the convoy of then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in Jiribam on June 10, 2024; the killing of three Meitei woodcutters at Haotak Khollen in Churachandpur; another killing in the Songdo area; and an attack on a petrol tanker in Jiribam, the Hindu reported. The accused managed to avade arrest for three years.
The other two UKNA cadres arrested were identified as Thongpi Guite (33) and Shokhomang Baite (40). Security forces seized one AK-47 rifle with a magazine, one 9 mm pistol with a magazine, 31 live rounds of ammunition of different calibres, two hand grenades, and two mobile phones.