2 men found dead, 6 of family missing day after militants killed in Manipur

Two elderly men were found burned to death, and six civilians, including three women and three minors, are missing. Police have initiated a search to trace them.

Babie Shirin, Ashutosh Mishra, India Today, New Delhi : Nov 12, 2024 Three women and three children have gone missing in Manipur's Jiribam, and two elderly men from the Meitei community were found dead, a day after 10 armed militants were killed after a clash with security forces in the area. Jiri Apunba Lup, the apex Meitei body in Jiribam, claimed the six missing persons were of the same family, news agency PTI reported.

Tensions are high in the Imphal Valley as a total shutdown has been called in five districts, following the alleged abduction of six civilians.

Police are conducting search operations to locate the missing individuals, while additional personnel from the Assam Rifles, CRPF, and civil police have been deployed to secure the area.

According to news agency PTI, purported photographs of the six missing persons in captivity of militants are doing the rounds on social media, but have not been confirmed by the police.

“This is an unfortunate and tragic incident. We are actively working to trace the missing women and children,” stated a senior police official.

On Monday, armed militants launched a brutal assault on the Jiribam police station and at the CRPF camp located nearby. The incident took place at around 2:30 pm, following which 10 Kuki militants were gunned down, and a CRPF jawan was injured.

According to IGP Operations, IK Muivah, the attackers used sophisticated weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), AK-series rifles, INSAS, and SLRs. A CRPF personnel was injured and later evacuated to Assam for medical treatment.

Describing the situation as "unfortunate," IGP Muivah emphasised the efforts made by security forces to limit the use of force, aiming to minimise casualties. "We refrain from firing as much as possible, but retaliation is necessary when faced with heavy weaponry," he said.

Schools and colleges were closed, markets were shut, and vehicles remained off the roads on Tuesday as the hill areas of Manipur witnessed the shutdown.

The total shutdown in five districts was called by 13 civil society organisations.

The shutdown began at 6 pm, and will continue for 24 hours, civil body International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA) said in a statement 

The Sangai Express reports that out of 10 missing Meitei civilians, two have been found dead while six of them including three children have been reportedly abducted by Kuki militants and taken toward Barak River.

The other two have been recovered.

According to sources, 10 Meitei civilians went missing after Kuki militants attacked and burnt down houses and shops located at Jiribam Jakuradhor Karong on November 11 afternoon.

It also reported, "the daring attack led to a heavy exchange of firing between Kuki militants and security forces, and 10 Kuki militants were killed in the battle.

Later, 10 Meitei villagers were found missing.

Security forces and the local people carried out a massive search operation in the wee hours today in search of the 10 missing civilians.

Two of them were found dead inside the houses which were burnt down by the Kuki militants.

It is suspected that the two were burnt alive by the Kuki militants.

The two persons who were found dead have been identified as Laishram Barel Meetei (63) and Maibam Kesho (61) .

The two other civilians were found lying with injuries in a nearby area.

They were rescued and brought to Jiribam Hospital for treatment and they have been identified as Pebam Rajkumar (64) and Oinam Thonglen (45), all from Jiribam Jakuradhor Karong.

However, three women and three minor children are still missing"

The six identified as Yurembam Rani Devi (60) w/o Y Naba-kishore Singh, Telam Thoibi Devi (31) w/o T Uttam Singh, Laishram Heitonbi Devi (25) w/o L Herojit Singh, Laishram Ching-kheinganba (2) s/o L Herojit Singh, Telam Thajamanbi (8) d/o T Uttam Singh and Laishram Langamba (8 months) s/o L Herojit Singh are suspected to have been abducted by the Kuki militants, the report adds.

It is highly suspected that the six of them might have been taken toward Barak River and held captive by Kuki militants.

Meanwhile, additional security personnel of Central armed forces have also reached Jiribam to assist the State and Central armed police deployed in Jiribam district.

On the other hand, Kuki militants attacked Mongbung village of Jiribam from Jaironpokpi Hmar village at around 3.10 pm by using bombs and bullets .

Security personnel deployed in the area also retaliated by firing toward the Kuki militants .

Intermediate firing is still on and there is no report of any injuries on the side of security forces during the attack by Kuki militants till the time of filing this report.