Mizoram police arrest two over 15-year-old girl's alleged murder

Two men have been arrested in Mizoram's Lunglei district in connection with the alleged murder of a 15-year-old girl whose body was found two days after she went missing, police said on August 20.

The accused, both residents of Mualthuam North village, were arrested after questioning and examination of digital and forensic evidence collected during the investigation.

The girl, who was also from Mualthuam North, went missing from her home on August 3. Her relatives and local residents launched a search, and her body was found on August 5 in bushes within the premises of the government-run Mualthuam North Middle School.

Police subsequently registered a case at Lunglei police station and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by the Lunglei Sub-Divisional Police Officer, to investigate the suspected homicide.

The SIT questioned several people during the probe, including the two men who were summoned multiple times for questioning. Investigators examined evidence that had raised suspicion against them, including their phone usage patterns and forensic material collected during the investigation.

After extensive questioning and examination of the evidence, both men allegedly confessed to the crime before the SIT on Thursday, police said. They were arrested and later remanded in judicial custody.

Police have withheld details about the circumstances of the girl's death and other evidence recovered during the investigation, saying that disclosing them at this stage could affect the ongoing probe and legal proceedings.

"The case remains under investigation, and the SIT is continuing to examine evidence and pursue related leads," police said, adding that further details would be shared when necessary.

Police also appealed to the public to cooperate with investigators and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.