National Security Act slapped on students for professor’s murder

Imphal, June 5, Five of the 13 students arrested in connection with the killing of a Manipur University professor have been detained under the National Security Act (NSA) while the rest have been freed on bail, police said Thursday.

Suspected militants gunned down Mohammad Islamudin, 56, an economics professor and former dean of students’ welfare of Manipur University May 25 in the campus at Canchipur, about 7 km north of here.

Police earlier arrested 14 people - 13 students of Manipur University and a policeman - on charges of conspiracy to kill the professor.

They produced the detainees in the court of the Imphal additional chief judicial magistrate Wednesday. The police told the court that five of the 14 accused were detained under the NSA by an order of the Imphal West District Magistrate and sought 15 days judicial remand for the others.

The Kanglei Yawol Kann Lup (KYKL), a major insurgent outfit, had earlier claimed responsibility for the killing of Islamudin.

The Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur has threatened to launch a series of agitations, including a 120-hour statewide bandh, against the arrests.