'They are innocent’: Manipur father’s emotional appeal for missing family members

Six individuals, including three children have gone missing from Manipur's Jiribam district after an encounter between suspected armed militants and security forces took place on November 11. The group, consisting of both women and children, was abducted from the Jakuradhor Karong area and reportedly taken towards the Barak River.

The missing include Yurembam Rani Devi (61), Telam Thoibi Devi (31), Laishram Heitonbi Devi (25), and their children—Laishram Chinghheinganba (2), Telam Thajamanbi (8), and the infant Laishram Langamba. The victims, who were among a group of 13 Meetei people displaced from their homes in June, had been staying near the CRPF camp in Jakuradhor and the Borobekra police station.

The abduction occurred in the same area where security forces had killed 10 insurgents on November 11. The family members of the missing individuals are deeply worried, as there has been no news regarding their whereabouts or safety since the incident.

Speaking to reporters, Laishram Herojit, whose family members are among the missing, expressed his distress, "The six missing people include my wife, two children, my mother-in-law, and my wife’s sister. They all belong to one family. However, there has been no news of their whereabouts, whether dead or alive, so far. They are innocent."

Herojit has made an appeal to all those responsible for the abduction: “I request that they be released and handed over to our family safely. We are deeply worried about their well-being and just want them back home.”