Shah assured me killers of 2 Manipuri youths will be punished: CM

A team of CBI officials, led by the agency's Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, has reached Manipur and started the probe into the crime which has rocked Imphal valley and led to two days of violent protests by students and youths on the streets of the state capital, leading to more than 60 people being injured.

Imphal:Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured him that those who had kidnapped and killed the two Manipuri youths will be arrested and punished.

A team of CBI officials, led by the agency's Special Director Ajay Bhatnagar, has reached Manipur and started the probe into the crime which has rocked Imphal valley and led to two days of violent protests by students and youths on the streets of the state capital, leading to more than 60 people being injured.

The chief minister told reporters: "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." Shah quoted Singh as saying that this case has to be dealt with very seriously and those responsible have to be booked as per the law of the land and assured that no one will be spared.

After landing in Imphal, they (CBI) have started their investigation, the chief minister said without disclosing the place where the CBI team has gone. The case began on July 6 with the disappearance of the two youths and it was handed over to the central agency on August 28.

Singh had announced on Tuesday night that CBI officials would be reaching the state on Wednesday to probe into the kidnapping and killing of the two youths. Photos of their bodies went viral on social media, leading to protests by students in the state since Tuesday. The photos surfaced on social media on Monday.

Singh said, "If security forces had fired bullets or anything lethal, the government will not tolerate it and disciplinary actions will be taken against them. In case of major injuries, investigations would be carried out to give them justice." "If our children get unjustified treatment even from our own forces, disciplinary actions will be taken," he said.

The chief minister said that he has information that objects made of iron were thrown at the security forces by miscreants who were among the demonstrating students," Singh said adding a number of police personnel were also injured. Singh said agitations need to be peaceful and should not be held in hyper-sensitive zones of offices of the Governor and the chief minister.

He said the real issue is to protect the state and its indigenous people from "illegal immigrants and drug mafia." Meanwhile, officials said that curfew relaxation has been cancelled in Imphal East district from 4 pm on Wednesday till further orders.

More than 175 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic clashes broke out in the northeastern state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.