Making the bodies disappear ! Fate of the 6 missing Naga men
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May 13, 2026 to May 25, 2026 and nearly two weeks since six Naga men have gone missing ever since they were allegedly handed over to Kuki militants at Leilon Vaiphei village and it is against this backdrop that the United Naga Council minced no words in pressing the Chief Minister to trace the men, dead or alive. Today the question doing the round is not whether the six Naga men are alive but whether their bodies would even be recovered. And this question should be understood in the backdrop of the reality, a reality of at least 32 missing Meitei people, after Manipur went up in flames in the evening of May 3, 2023. According to reports doing the round, at least two Meitei went missing at Moreh after the place joined the violence which started at Churachandpur in the evening of May 3, 2023. A point which has been repeatedly stressed here while underlining how quickly the violence spread to Moreh and Kangpokpi, while Imphal and the valley areas reacted only late in the evening of May 3, 2023. The Sangai Express woke up to the disturbing news of yet another two men who had gone missing on May 6, 2023. The two men, both from Khumbong in Imphal West, Atom Samarendra and his friend Yumkhaibam Kirankumar, have since remained in the category of ‘missing’, though their fate must be clear to all, with even the family members of the two men and the localities having performed a symbolic last rite with a pangon. This news was in particular shocking to The Sangai Express for Atom Samarendra was a former employee of this newspaper through thick and thin. The next shocking case of yet another missing case is obviously Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit, two young students who were ‘made to disappear’ on July 8, 2023. Latest report says that a prime suspect has been picked up, as on May 25, 2026, but one has to wait and see what progress is made from here in the backdrop of the fact that earlier there were reports of some accused having been picked up, but it has been three years since and that was the last that has been heard of this case. There have been a number of other missing cases too and it is against this reality that the six Naga men have gone missing. The Kuki Inpi, Manipur has already come out with the fantastic claim that all the Naga people have been released and the six men are not in the custody of the abductors. This is where one is left wondering what the investigating agencies are doing.
In what position did KIM say that all the Naga hostages have been set free ? Were they also a part of the abductors or in touch with the people who actually herded away the Naga people after taking them hostages ? Isn’t this enough ground to summon the office bearers of KIM and subject them to some questioning ? A logical deduction of the situation should lead to this, but no one, at least the public, do not know under what agenda the great investigators of India and Manipur are working. To those who have been closely following the violence in Manipur, the fact that no one has a clue on where the six missing Naga men are would not have come as too big a surprise for here is a similar tale that runs through all the other 32 missing cases. More than three years down the line and there has not been a single case of anyone being pulled up or body recovered or being led to the spot where the body has been kept. This is what is worrying and there is no reason not to believe that the same fate would not befall the six missing Naga men. Do them to death but make sure the grieving families are not given the opportunity to perform the last rite-in other words, never let them find the mortal remains of their near and beloved one, is obviously the one line instruction of the Kuki militants. This is giving a new definition and understanding to the art of making bodies disappear. And prizes for taking this to a new level of ‘expertise’ should obviously go to the Kuki militants, which have been fanning violence and trouble since the evening of May 3, 2023. This is where a repeat of an earlier question becomes important. If the Kukis or Kuki militants had any grievances against the policies and programmes of the Government, why were Meitei civilians first attacked at Churachandpur and Torbung ? ITLF and CoTU should answer this.
In what position did KIM say that all the Naga hostages have been set free ? Were they also a part of the abductors or in touch with the people who actually herded away the Naga people after taking them hostages ? Isn’t this enough ground to summon the office bearers of KIM and subject them to some questioning ? A logical deduction of the situation should lead to this, but no one, at least the public, do not know under what agenda the great investigators of India and Manipur are working. To those who have been closely following the violence in Manipur, the fact that no one has a clue on where the six missing Naga men are would not have come as too big a surprise for here is a similar tale that runs through all the other 32 missing cases. More than three years down the line and there has not been a single case of anyone being pulled up or body recovered or being led to the spot where the body has been kept. This is what is worrying and there is no reason not to believe that the same fate would not befall the six missing Naga men. Do them to death but make sure the grieving families are not given the opportunity to perform the last rite-in other words, never let them find the mortal remains of their near and beloved one, is obviously the one line instruction of the Kuki militants. This is giving a new definition and understanding to the art of making bodies disappear. And prizes for taking this to a new level of ‘expertise’ should obviously go to the Kuki militants, which have been fanning violence and trouble since the evening of May 3, 2023. This is where a repeat of an earlier question becomes important. If the Kukis or Kuki militants had any grievances against the policies and programmes of the Government, why were Meitei civilians first attacked at Churachandpur and Torbung ? ITLF and CoTU should answer this.