An eight-year-old girl staying at a government-run relief camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) was found murdered on the Imphal riverbed early Monday, with police detaining a co-resident in connection with the crime.
The victim, identified as Oinam Chanu, daughter of Oinam Basant, had been missing from the Singjamei Akampat relief camp since Saturday afternoon. Her body was discovered around 1 a.m. near the riverbank under the Singjamei bridge within the jurisdiction of Irilbung police station in Imphal East district.
A team of district police, along with forensic experts, recovered the body and conducted a preliminary investigation at the site. Initial findings suggested that the child had been sexually assaulted and killed.
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Police have detained a 28-year-old man, identified as Laishram Lanngamba, for questioning. Officials said both the victim and the suspect were residents of the same relief camp and originally hailed from Moreh Khunou in Tengnoupal district. They had been staying at the camp since the outbreak of ethnic violence in the state on May 3, 2023.
Following the recovery of the body, tensions flared at the relief camp, with a group of residents gathering at Irilbung police station and demanding that the suspect be handed over to them. Security personnel intervened to bring the situation under control.
The body has been sent to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), Imphal East, for post-mortem examination. Police said a case has been registered and further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events.
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