GUWAHATI: Two teenagers were reported missing in Manipur on Sunday and the police detained three persons in connection with the case.
“…joint security forces launched (a) search operation in Khengjang and K Lhangnom villages of Kangpokpi district. In the said operation, 03 (three) individuals have been detained for further interrogation and verification in connection with the incident. Search operation continues,” the police wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maibam Avinash (16) and Ningthoujam Anthony (19), both hailing from Lamshang in Imphal, were reported missing after they had left for Sekmai in the Imphal East district on a two-wheeler on Sunday morning to attend an event.
Locals suspect that the duo was abducted by unidentified people. What strengthened this suspicion is that the police recovered their phones, wrapped in a polythene bag, from near an oil pump in Senapati district. Senapati is beyond the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district.
The incident triggered fresh tension in the strife-torn state. The students of some schools in Meitei-majority Imphal valley took out a protest march on Monday demanding swift action by the police to rescue the duo.
The locals at Lamshang also vented their ire by burning tyres and putting boulders in the middle of roads.
The families of the two teens met Governor Anusuiya Uikey and titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba, who is a Rajya Sabha member and requested them to find the missing boys.