As armed mobs of men and women were looting police armouries across Imphal in Manipur early May, one of the first victims of the ethnic conflict was a 21-year-old undergraduate student from Churachandpur district, who was arrested for sharing a social media post against CM N. Biren Singh.
According to the FIR in the case, seen by The Hindu, the police were escorting 21-year-old Hanglalmuan Vaiphei from court to the Sajiwa Jail on May 4, when they were stopped by a mob in the Porompat area. The armed mob robbed the police of their weapons and beat Vaiphei to death as the police “escaped in different directions to save themselves”.
This was among the first instances of brutality in Manipur’s ongoing ethnic conflict, details of some of which are surfacing only now. The FIR was registered under sections of rioting and murder at the Porompat police station on May 4.
