Two convicted for kidnapping and killing Manipur minister's daughter in 2003

A sessions court in Imphal on March 13 sentenced two individuals to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of the eight-year-old daughter of then Manipur minister Ngajokpa in 2003. The convicted individuals were identified as Ningombam Rome Meitei and Letkhosei Haokip. The other two persons mentioned in the charge sheet died during the course of the trial, officials said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed the charge sheet against the convicted individuals and the other two accused on December 28, 2007. The CBI had taken over the investigation into the case on March 29, 2004, at the request of the Manipur Government. The case was earlier investigated by local police against unknown culprits.

According to a CBI spokesperson, "It was alleged that Miss Lungnila Elizabeth (aged 8 years), daughter of Francis Ngajokpa, then minister in Government of Manipur, was kidnapped on November 4, 2003, from a school located at Sangaiprou, Imphal West district." The girl's body was found in a gunny bag in a ditch at Tera Sadokpam Leikai in Imphal West district on November 12, 2003, he said.

The sentencing of the convicted individuals after nearly two decades brings some closure to the victim's family.