Manipur: 3 persons who went missing while collecting firewood found dead, search underway to recover fourth body

Three persons, who went missing while collecting firewood in a forest, were found dead in Manipur's Churachandpur district on January 11, police said. 

Four people from Akasoi in Bishnupur district went missing on Wednesday afternoon they had gone to the nearby hills in Churachandpur to collect firewood. 

The bodies of Ibomcha Singh, 51, and his son Anand Singh, 20, and 38-year-old Romen Singh were found near Haotak Phailen.

Meanwhile, the body of Ahanthem Dara (56) has still not been recovered and a search operation is underway.

"My father went to collect firewood on Wednesday morning. Though the forest area is guarded by the security forces, three persons were killed. I request the government to find my father at the earliest," the son of Ananthem Dara told media.

Taking to X, the Manipur Police wrote, "On 11.01.2024, security forces recovered 03 (three) dead bodies of the 04 (four) persons who reportedly went missing at Haotak Mapalok Ching, Bishnupur District on 10.01.2024."

On 11.01.2024, security forces recovered 03(three) dead bodies of the 04(four) persons who reportedly went missing at Haotak Mapalok Ching, Bishnupur District on 10.01.2024. Security forces are carrying out hectic efforts to search for the other missing person and to flush out…

— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) January 11, 2024

A combing operation has been launched in the area to flush out the armed miscreants from the area, police added.

Also Read: Manipur: Four civilians, including father-son duo, killed on Bishnupur- Churachandpur border

The bodies were recovered from a location not very far from the post of the Maha Regiment. 

The police later sent the bodies to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the state capital Imphal for post-mortem.

The Bishnupur district police team, in collaboration with local volunteers, is conducting an intensive search for the fourth missing individual at Wangoo Sabal Maning Meichakpi Ching. 

Local sources suggest that the victims' usual destination for firewood collection is Mapal Lok. 

An official said on Wednesday that the superintendent of police in Bishnupur district had conveyed the Brigadier of the 59th Mountain Brigade to notify, and he is dispatching a team from Haotak Khulen to Phailen Village for the search. 

Four of them reportedly went missing on Wednesday, with the possibility of being held captive by unidentified armed miscreants. 

It is to be mentioned here that a suspected armed group have claimed responsibility for the killing, however, the security forces are yet to make any arrests.

Locals in the Tampha Khunou claim that the four dead were innocent civilians who had gone to harvest ginger near the area where they were killed. They also say that the four were killed by Kuki militant groups, an allegation dismissed by the locals of Haotak Phailen.

While four of those allegedly involved in wood cutting got killed, there was no report of casualty from the side of Haotak Phailen village volunteers. In fact, bodies of the those killed had several stab wounds on their bodies, reportedly inflicted by daggers, says a government source. “There was no gunfight. It was an act of murder,” a senior government functionary told India Today NE. Videos of some armed individuals later appeared on social media claiming to have killed “four lions”. 

In an earlier version of the story, it was wrongly mentioned that it was a gunfight between two groups which resulted in the killing of four individuals, however, government sources have confirmed that there was no gunfight. 

It was also mentioned that Arambai Tenggol volunteers were involved in the incident, however, there was no evidence of the involvement of Arambai Tenggol. 

The two errors are regretted.