Imphal: On 6 July, a teenage couple — both class 11 students from Imphal West — decided to venture out. It was a day after the Manipur government had relaxed the curfew in the area. The two just wanted to spend some time together. So, while she told her parents she was going for tuition classes, he left home on the pretext of going to a football game.
Little did they know that their journey would not lead back home.
As the day went on, with no sign of their return and their phones switched off, their families grew increasingly anxious and began a search. The girl’s family arrived at the tuition centre, where they discovered from CCTV footage that she had left with her male friend on a bike. By afternoon, they approached his family, only to find that he, too, was missing.
15 days later, on 21 July, a purported video of a girl being beheaded emerged on social media. The missing girl’s family believes the girl in the video to be their daughter. The police, however, has said that they have not yet been able to authenticate the video.
Numerous videos depicting gruesome acts of violence against women, including beheadings, have been circulating on social media. However, several news reports have claimed that these videos allegedly originated from Myanmar and were filmed last year.
Meanwhile, her friend Hemanjit Vietimboy, remains unaccounted for, and the last location detected from his phone places him in a Kuki-dominated area, more than 45 kilometers from the tuition centre.
Neither of the bodies have yet been recovered.
“They were innocent children who simply went out for a ride,” said Phijam Ibunggobi Singh, father of the 18-year-old boy Hemanjit Vietimboy.
“They knew little about this conflict. Nor did they know about the situation being so dangerous outside. They knew something was happening in Manipur, but they had no idea what and why. They did not even follow the news, they were kids. They ventured towards the hills thinking of getting some time away, but that cost them their lives,” he said, breaking down while talking to ThePrint.
Speaking to ThePrint about this incident, some leaders from Manipur’s dominant Meitei community, to which the teens belong, also claimed that while the boy was killed, the girl was held captive for four days, was raped and then murdered. The police, however, have registered a case of abduction against Hemanjit since the bodies have not yet been recovered.
“Based on the complaint of the girl’s father, we have registered a case of abduction….The investigation is on,” a senior police officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. “The parents have not alleged rape. There is no complaint made to us.”
Ethnic clashes between the tribal Kuki and non-tribal Meitei communities erupted on 3 May, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to oppose the demand for inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. According to police data, the violence has so far claimed over 150 lives and displaced more than 50,000.
Also read: After video of missing Meitei duo in Manipur being ‘shot, kicked into ditch’, families await bodies
What happened on 6 July?
On 6 July, the girl left home early in the morning for a 6 am class, but when she didn’t return home by 8.30 am, her mother called her to inquire about her whereabouts. Speaking to ThePrint, her father said that during the call, his daughter initially mentioned being around Nambol bazaar, but, within seconds, she claimed to be in Khoupum, two locations 15 km apart. Then, abruptly, someone snatched her phone, cutting the call off.
“I could hear that someone snatched her phone and cut the call. When we called her again, the number was switched off,” he said.
After seeing the CCTV footage of her going off with her classmate Hemanjit, the family initially assumed that the two had eloped and might have gone to the boy’s house to get married.
Frantic, they searched both Nambol and Khoupam, but without success. They filed a missing complaint with the police on the same day, accusing the 18-year-old of abducting the girl.
However, upon meeting the boy’s father that afternoon, they realised that both teenagers were missing and feared they may have fallen victim to the ongoing violence.
“Earlier, I thought that the boy took her away to get married, but when I met the boy’s father, I realised I was wrong,” the girl’s father told ThePrint. “When we were searching for them near Khoupum, some people told us that the couple was abducted in a gypsy and taken away,” the girl’s uncle added.
According to the girl’s father, the last location of her phone was found to be near Aimol village in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur. “I feel so helpless, I don’t know what to do,” he said. “She was murdered brutally. I don’t know what all was done to her. We are yet to receive her body,” he added.
Hemanjit’s father told ThePrint that they became aware of his disappearance only when the girl’s father approached them. Hemanjit had told his family that he was going for a football match, but when the girl’s father showed up at their house at around 2.15 pm looking for both of them, they realised something was amiss. Hemanjit’s phone was switched off.
Initially, they hoped the couple had eloped and would return home after getting married, a common occurrence in their community. However, when they didn’t return, the families grew concerned, sensing that both teenagers might be in trouble.
“We waited for them to return, hoping they would get married and come home, but they did not return. That is when we realised, both of them have gone missing and may be in trouble,” Phijam Ibunggobi Singh, Hemanjit’s father, said.
‘The police have failed us’
On 7 July, both families again set out on a search, following a probable route of the couple, that led them to Phougakchao Ikhai, a village in the foothills of Bishnupur district, close to Churachandpur.
They informed the police at Phougakchao Ikhai police station that the locals they had spoken to informed them about the abduction, but they did not have any significant leads.
“Since we were told (by locals) that they were taken to Churachandpur, we went up to Phougakchao Ikhai police station and told the police to look for our children. We told them that the locals have told us that they were abducted. The police told us that they asked around in the villages but did not find any information,” he said.
Days later, on 11 July, Hemanjit’s phone came on at Lamdan, a village in Churachandpur, his father claimed.
“His handset reactivated in Lamdan, but from a different SIM card. Someone from the cyber-crime unit told me that. I told him why don’t you go and arrest that person? He told me that it is difficult for them to go towards Churachandpur due to the ongoing conflict,” he said.
“The police have failed us,” he added. “It is the duty of the police to protect us, if they give up, where will we go?” he asked.
There has been no information on Hemanjit. His father believes that he is no more, considering the time that has passed without any sign of him. But his mother clings to hope. Speaking to ThePrint, he said he is struggling to break the painful truth to his wife who has been inconsolable and unable to eat since their son’s disappearance.
He fears that their long wait may end with yet another horrific video of their son appearing on social media. “Each time someone talks about a video surfacing, my heart stops,” he said.
This story has been updated to reflect latest developments.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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