"Held Captive...": CBI Files 2 Chargesheets Against 5 Accused In Missing Manipur Teens Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed two separate chargesheets against five accused in connection with the case of two missing students in Manipur, who were feared killed during the ethnic violence in the state, officials said today.

Photos showing their bodies surfaced on September 25, leading to protests, mainly by students. The CBI, however, is yet to find the bodies.

The agency filed the chargesheets in the interconnected cases before a designated special court in Assam's Kamrup, giving a sequence of events before they went missing.

The CBI said the boy went to the tuition class of the girl on July 6, and after picking her up on his motorcycle, proceeded towards Bishnupur side. From there, they rode towards Old Cachar Road.

They were intercepted by a group of people and "held captive by the five accused" named in the chargesheet, the CBI said. The accused forcibly put them in a vehicle and took them to an undisclosed location, where they were "suspectedly killed", the CBI said in a statement.

Among the accused, Paolunmang was arrested from Pune, and Paominlun Haokip, Smalsawm Haokip and Lhingneichong Baitekuki were arrested from Churachandpur district. Nohgin Baitekuki is on the run.

The parents of the missing teenagers had filed first information reports (FIRs) with the Imphal police and the Lamphel police on July 8 and July 19, respectively.

The girl's father had alleged the boy may have kidnapped his daughter to marry her without consent, while the boy's father alleged his son may have been abducted by miscreants.

"The CBI has filed chargesheets in both cases against the five accused. Further investigation is continuing," the CBI said in the statement.

Over 180 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured in the ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur on May 3.