Imphal: The state capital and its surrounding areas in Manipur experienced a resurgence of tension following the disappearance of two teenage boys from Imphal West district.
The missing individuals have been identified as 16-year-old Maibam Avinash and 19-year-old Ningthoujam Anthony, both of whom were reported to have gone towards the Sekmai area in Imphal West district on a two-wheeler to attend an event on Sunday morning. However, as they did not return, concerns grew among the local populace.
Locals in the area suspect that the two teenagers, who hail from Lamshang, were possibly abducted by unknown individuals. In response to their disappearance, the Lamshang police have registered a missing persons case and initiated an investigation into the matter.
During the course of their investigation, the police discovered the mobile phones of the missing teenagers wrapped in a black polythene packet near an oil pump in Senapati district, which is beyond Kangpokpi district.
Protests erupted as the community demanded swift and decisive police action to locate and rescue the missing teenagers. Higher secondary students from three prominent schools in Imphal town organised a rally and gathered at Keisampat junction, a prominent location in the heart of the capital, to voice their concerns and seek the authorities' intervention.
Th Lamngamba, a participant in the protest, expressed, "This incident is hard to accept for the student community. We already have the infamous case of the disappearance of two youths."
Meanwhile, in Lamshang, numerous locals took to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction and anguish. They set tires ablaze and placed boulders in the middle of the roads as a form of protest against the situation.