The CBI arrested Wohkhogin 'Tiger' Baite, alleged mastermind of the July 2023 abduction and killing of Manipur students Linthoingambi and Hemanjit, from Churachandpur on May 23, 2026.
Imphal, May 24: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested the man it believes was the principal architect of the 2023 abduction and killing of two Meitei students in Manipur - a case that triggered mass protests and remains one of the most closely watched criminal proceedings from the state's ongoing ethnic conflict.
Wohkhogin Baite, who goes by the alias "Tiger" or Nokjagin, was arrested on May 23 in Churachandpur district based on intelligence inputs, the CBI announced. He was subsequently flown to Guwahati, where he is being interrogated. The CBI has named him as the alleged primary conspirator in the abduction and killing of Luwangbi Hijam Linthoingambi, 17, and Phijam Hemanjit Singh, 20, who disappeared on July 6, 2023, and were never seen alive again.
Baite held the self-styled rank of Special Squadron Major in the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), a militant outfit operating in Manipur. He had been at large since the CBI first arrested five other suspects in October 2023, and has long been identified by investigators as the person who planned the operation. His arrest brings the total number of accused in CBI custody to six.
The two students had left for tuition on the morning of July 6, 2023, and were last captured on CCTV on Old Cachar Road in Imphal. Their phones went offline the same day. Families filed missing persons complaints, but authorities initially treated the case as a domestic dispute. That changed on September 25, 2023, when photographs circulated online showing the pair in captivity, and then dead. The images, which wore the same clothes in both frames, set off widespread protests across Imphal.
The CBI took over the investigation in August 2023 and, within weeks, arrested four suspects from Churachandpur on October 1 - Paominlun Haokip, S. Malsawm Haokip, Lhingneichong Baitekuki, and Tinneilhing Henthang. A fifth accused, Paolun Mang, was arrested in Pune on October 13. All five were taken to Guwahati. The agency filed two chargesheets in January 2024, charging the accused under IPC sections covering kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence. No murder charges were formally filed as the bodies have not been found.
Court proceedings have moved slowly. As of early 2026, formal framing of charges had not taken place. A hearing in December 2025 was adjourned pending submission of electronic evidence, including call data and internet records. The case is being heard before a designated CBI court in Guwahati.
Tiger's arrest introduces a potentially significant shift in the investigation. As the alleged mastermind, his questioning could shed light on questions that have remained unanswered since the case began, mainly, where the victims were killed and where their remains are. Nearly three years on, the bodies have not been recovered. The absence of physical remains has meant the deaths are established only through the photographs and other circumstantial evidence, a gap that could complicate the prosecution at trial.
Baite is also linked, according to police, to the June 2025 ambush killing of Thangboi Haokip alias "Thahpi", who served as deputy chief of the UKNA. That incident points to internal conflict within the armed group, though investigators have not publicly connected the two cases in detail.
The families of Linthoingambi and Hemanjit have spent nearly three years seeking answers. In July 2024, they submitted a memorandum to the Governor seeking either the location of their children or the handover of their remains for last rites. Hemanjit's family conducted a symbolic funeral using a plank in lieu of a body. His family had also told media that he was 17 at the time, not 20 as listed in the FIR, a discrepancy that was never officially clarified.
In August 2024, Congress MLA K. Ranjit raised the case in the state Assembly, pressing the government on the lack of progress. Then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh acknowledged it as one of the most painful cases arising from the conflict and said the CBI was under pressure to resolve it. No new arrests had been announced in the period between the January 2024 chargesheets and Tiger's detention last Friday.
The CBI has not yet issued a detailed public statement on the charges expected against Baite or the evidence gathered in the Churachandpur operation. Investigators are also yet to confirm whether his arrest has produced any new leads on the victims' remains.
