It has been over nine months since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, claiming several innocent lives, leaving numerous injured and displaced while grief-stricken families wait for word on those missing. Except for some scattered voices for locating the individuals missing in the ethnic clashes who are presumed to be dead, an effort on the part of the state government and law enforcement agencies including the central agencies is somehow absent in the midst of this chaotic situation.
Days have turned into weeks and weeks into months however, justice remains elusive for the Meitei victims of enforced disappearances in connection with the prevailing communal violence, with their families, going back and forth, unwilling to give up the hope that their loved one is still alive somewhere, all the while enduring great suffering. Living in frozen grief besides constant anguish and despair for the victims' families, the passage of time comes as a devastating setback, snuffing out the flicker of hope they are holding onto. Since the clash broke out, nearly 30 Meiteis have been reported missing, presumed kidnapped and murdered by armed militants.
On the other hand, some families have consoled themselves by conducting the last rites according to custom, although a difficult choice. However, they have lost all hope of finding the dead bodies or the remains of their dear ones. Among them, the families of former journalist and social activist Atom Samarendra and a friend who went missing on May 6 in Sangaithel area have conducted the last rites sometime back. They had been visiting the nearby villages and alerting them on the possibility of attacks from the nearby hills by Kuki militants, when they went missing in the general area of Sangaithel.
Meanwhile, the decomposed body of Ngangom Nevy, a 17-year-old boy was found only after a video of a Kuki militant cutting off his head surfaced and went viral. Nevy who had been missing since May 28, 2023 was discovered in Manipur's Chandel district on January 31. His body was located in the Sokom Village after an extensive search operation. But his family had already conducted the last rites with no hope of finding his body.
On the other hand, questions have been raised as to what is stopping the government and the CBI in locating the dead bodies of the two young teenagers if they are able to arrest individuals allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder and the location pried from interrogation of those arrested.
The two teenagers Phijam Hemanjit Singh and Hijam Luwangbi @ Linthoingambi went missing on July 6. When the photo of the duo and a picture purportedly showing their bodies surfaced on social media on September 25, it sparked widespread public outrage, condemnation and days of protests, demanding justice for the two students. A high level CBI team led by its special Director landed in Manipur on September 27 and in a swift follow-up CBI arrested four individuals, including a woman, in connection with the incident and airlifted them to Guwahati on October 1.
The CBI also arrested an alleged mastermind behind the case on October 13. Manipur Chief Minister while lauding the CBI team for the swift action, has also assured further investigation to arrest other alleged culprits. There is also a news-report that CBI investigation had been able to pinpoint the location on Old Cachar Road at Joujangtek where the bodies are supposedly buried. But, no effort to dig up the bodies had been made so far. It is the same with the case of other missing individuals. It is time for the government to come up with a status paper on the investigations and whereabouts of the missing and dead.
