Police give a preliminary account of the circumstances leading to Rojer’s death

Imphal, March 30: Two cars were following two girls riding a scooter. A Bolero jeep overtook the two cars and drove parallel to the two girls with the intention of teasing them. The first of the two cars, a Hyundai i20, overtook the Bolero and a single shot rang out in the air.

This could have been a scene from a Bollywood crime thriller but this was real life horror in which flood control minister N. Biren Singh’s son N. Ajay was charged with killing a youth, Irom Rojer, with his licensed pistol.

The incident took place at Ghari in Imphal West along Imphal-Airport Road on March 20.

According to preliminary police investigations, the two girls and the three vehicles were heading south towards the airport when Ajay’s vehicle, which was behind the two cars, overtook both.

Ajay was travelling with four of his friends in his Bolero, with one of them driving.

After the Bolero overtook the cars, the i20 blew its horn long and repeatedly and then overtook the Bolero, slowing down in front of it.

Ajay, who was sitting in the seat next to the driver’s, brought his vehicle almost parallel to the i20, shouted at the occupants of the car, which was being driven by Rojer, apparently for overtaking his vehicle, and then pulled out his pistol and fired a shot.

The bullet pierced the driver’s seat and then Rojer’s neck from behind.

Rojer was also travelling with some of his friends in the i20. The occupants of the Alto, which was behind the Bolero when the incident took place, were also his friends.

The police report says, “When they (Ajay team) was trying to tease the girls, the driver of i20, after many attempts, overtook the Bolero jeep. Then Ajay pulled his licensed M-20 pistol, cocked it and fired towards the i20 car. In that the driver of the i20 car was hit by the bullet fired by accused N. Ajay.”

However, police investigators are yet to come up with the exact motive of the firing. The police also could not say whether Ajay fired the shot because he was angry at being overtaken or whether he apprehended something.

Ajay and his four friends, who were booked under Section 302/34 IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act, are now in jail.

The incident has evoked widespread public outrage as the murder accused is the son of Biren Singh, who is also the government spokesperson and the minister in charge of youth affairs and sports as well as consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

As the incident turned political with Opposition Manipur Peoples Party and the BJP demanding Biren Singh’s resignation and dismissal of the Okram Ibobi Singh government, the cabinet decided to hand over the case to the CBI on Monday. “The cabinet decided to hand over the cases of the minister’s son to the CBI to deliver justice,” a senior minister said after the cabinet meeting.

Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh also assured the people that justice would be delivered in the case and no guilty person would be protected.