YANGON – Police say they found the body of U Bobo Min Theik, the administrator of Mrauk U, in a car that had crashed in neighbouring Ponnagyun Township on Tuesday evening. They suspect he had been murdered.
U Tin Maung Shwe, secretary of the Rakhine State government, told local media outlet Narinjara that the body was found in a car that had crashed into a hedge on the Sittwe-Ponnagyun highway at about 5pm. The three suspects had been travelling with Bobo Min Theik before stabbing him in the chest three times and fleeing, he said.
In mid-January, at least eight people were killed at Mrauk U after a heavy police crackdown on a protest held there. The incident occurred after thousands of people took to the streets in the ancient town to protest the government’s decision to cancel an event planned to commemorate the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Rakhine kingdom, which had its capital at Mrauk U.
Tin Maung Shwe refused to speculate whether the killings were related to the Mrauk U incident, and said police were searching for the suspects.
Officers at Mrauk U police station referred Frontier to the Ponagyun Township police, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
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