Mizoram Police arrests husband-wife duo 7 years after killing friend

Aizawl: A couple from Jharkhand has been arrested by Mizoram police seven years after they allegedly killed their friend in Mizoram’s capital Aizawl.

The accused Manik Das alias Manoj (44) and his wife Anjali Devi (40) were arrested from their residence at Aamdhari village in Jharkhand’s Dumka district on September 29 and were brought to Aizawl on Wednesday, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said on Thursday. 

The couple, both labourers, had allegedly murdered their friend Mangra and buried his body inside a rented house in Aizawl’s Falkland area back in March 2017. 

Mangra, also hailing from Jharkhand, shared his accommodation with the couple and their three children. After committing the crime, the couple fled to Jharkhand along with their children. 

The incident came to light on March 25, 2017 when a leader of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) informed about the discovery of a dead body inside the rented house owned by one Zairema of the Falkland locality, he added. 

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The police team from Bawngkawn police station soon rushed to the spot, conducted inquest proceedings and initiated an investigation. During preliminary investigation, it was found that Das and his wife fled after killing Mangra.

A case was registered at the Bawngkawn police station under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) in April 2017. 

Khiangte said an inquest of the body revealed that the deceased was blindfolded and an autopsy also suggested that the victim might have died of asphyxia due to smothering. However, the actual cause of death could not be positively ascertained due to the advanced decomposed state of the body. 

The police immediately launched a massive manhunt to trace the couple. 

During the course of investigation, it was found that the couple was arrested by Jharkhand’s Kathikund police on March 26, 2017 in a double murder case in their native state. 

After obtaining a production warrant from the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Aizawl in November 2019, a police team left for Kathikund to arrest them but failed to reach their destination due to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) protests in Assam.

Several attempts were made to arrest the duo over the years but CAB protests in several states and the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic delayed their arrest, Khiangte added. 

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On September 26, 2024, a five-member police team led by inspector Maria Biakchungnungi travelled to Jharkhand under the guidance of Aizawl Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Alwal who was in touch with the Dumka police.

The team finally arrested the couple on September 29 and brought them to Aizawl on Wednesday. 

Khiangte said the couple spent six years in a Jharkhand jail and were currently out on bail before being arrested by the Mizoram police.

The husband-wife duo is currently under Mizoram police custody and will be produced before a court.