Missing specially-abled man's body found in Manipur, 9 arrested

PTI,  IMPHAL, JUNE 17, 2025 :  A physically challenged man, missing for nearly a week, was found dead in Manipur's Imphal West district on Tuesday morning, triggering protests, police said.

Nine people, including six members of the Meitei outfit Arambai Tenggol, were arrested in connection with the case, they said.

Chesam Abdul Kadir, a resident of Paobitek Mayai Leikai, went missing on June 11. He was accused of theft and assaulted by a mob, following which he was reported missing, they said. After the arrests were made in the last two days, police located the body, which was buried at Samurou Naorem, they added.

Investigation revealed that he was killed and buried, police said, adding that the body was exhumed in the presence of an executive magistrate, forensic team, and family members. "A criminal case has been registered and a thorough investigation will be conducted," they said in a post on X, urging people to cooperate with the investigation and remain calm.

Following the recovery of the body, protests broke out at Paobitek with locals burning tyres in the middle of the roads. Security forces had to fire several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the agitators, who hurled stones at them.

The arrested Arambai Tenggol members were identified as Longjam Henson (24), Thounaojam Ashok Singh (20), and Huidrom Shyamsunder Singh (30), police said.