Nearly three months after two Meitei students from Imphal went missing, they were presumed killed on Tuesday after their photographs surfaced, prompting the Manipur government to state that “swift and decisive” action will be taken against the perpetrators.

One of the pictures showed the two students – 20-year-old Phijam Hemjit and 17-year-old Hijam Linthoingambi – sitting on the grassy compound while two armed men can be seen behind them. In another picture, circulating on social media, the bodies of the two students can be seen.

The two were reportedly residents of Tera Tongbram Leikai in Imphal and had gone missing on July 6.

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After the photos surfaced, the Chief Minister’s Secretariat issued a statement saying that the case had already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“It has come to the notice of the state government that the photos of two students… who have been missing since July 2023 have surfaced on social media. It may be noted that this case has already been handed over to the CBI as per the wishes of the people of the state,” the Manipur government said in a statement today.

“State police, in collaboration with the central security agencies, are actively investigating the case to determine the circumstances surrounding their disappearance and to identify the perpetrators who murdered the two students. The security forces have also started the search operation to nab the perpetrators,” the government said.

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The government said it will take “swift and decisive action” against all those involved in the kidnapping and killing of the students. It appealed to the public to maintain calm and let the investigators do their job.

The case has sparked massive outrage across the country, with many questioning why it took so long for the police to crack the case.

In July, the two students were seen on CCTV cameras installed at shops, but they couldn’t be traced.

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Ethnic violence between the hill-majority Kuki tribes and the valley-majority Meiteis began on May 3, following a protest by the Kukis over the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status. Over 180 have died and thousands have been internally displaced.