New Delhi: Pictures of two Manipuri students who had gone missing in July are going viral on social media. While one of them shows their dead bodies in gory detail, the other shows them sitting in fear, and in the background are armed men with their guns clearly visible.
The Manipur Chief Minister’s Office confirmed that the bodies belong to a young female student, Luwangbi Linthoingambi Hijam (17), and a young male student named Phijam Hemanjit Singh (20). Assuring action against those involved in their kidnapping and killing, the Chief Minister’s Office said that the matter is already being probed into by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in collaboration with the state agencies.
The pictures went viral starting Saturday, September 23. Both students were from the Meitei community. The viral pictures on social media also show the date the photo was taken as July 8 – two days after they had gone missing.
Also read: Their Children Missing and the Authorities Silent, Two Manipuri Families Don’t Know Where to Turn
In the first picture, Linthoingambi and Hemanjit sit in fear in what appears to be a makeshift jungle camp of an armed group. Linthoingambi is in a white T-shirt while Hemanjit, holding a backpack and in a checked shirt, looks on. Behind them, about four men with guns are clearly visible.
The second photo is gory where their bodies are seen slumped on the ground, with Hemanjit’s head missing.
The young male student, Hemanjit, had gone missing on July 6. Linthoingambi, who had gone to her coaching class and later went out with Hemanjit on his KTM bike for a ride on July 6, too had not returned home since then.
The families had hoped that one day either the police would find the two or they would return home safely. The boy’s family has confirmed the identity of their children.
Hemanjit’s father told The Wire that he went out in the same clothes in which the pictures are now viral. “Today [September 25], around 3:30 pm, a few people and local media came to us with a few photographs. Our entire family broke down upon seeing those pictures. I still can’t believe that his life ended like this,” said Ibungobi Singh.
Earlier, The Wire in a detailed story had reported their disappearance on July 27, 2023. Ibungobi Singh had wanted media coverage for his son, Hemanjit, so that he and his friend, Linthoingambi, could come home safely.
“My wife has been crying since morning, and she has not been eating. How can I make her understand that our son is no more,” said Ibungobi Singh, sobbing inconsolably.
