Bodies of woman and 2 children found floating in Manipur river, officials say likely from Meitei family of missing 6

Six people from the same family – three women and three children, including a baby – had gone missing from Jiribam’s Borobekra after violence in the area. All six are from the Meitei community and had been living in a relief camp set up at the Borobekra police station after violence gripped the area in June.

According to security officials, while family members are yet to identify the bodies, the descriptions match three of those missing.

According to an official, there had been an input that the bodies were seen floating in the river, following which Assam Rifles personnel retrieved them. The area from which they have been retrieved is called Jirimukh, where the Jiri River meets the Barak River.

The six people who had been missing were a grandmother, her two daughters and three grandchildren. Ever since they went missing, Meitei groups have been alleging that they were abducted by armed Hmar men, alleged to be militants, who had attacked the area on Monday morning.

Following the violence at the relief camp, security forces had gunned down 10 of the armed men. Earlier this week, the bodies of two elderly Meitei men – also residents of the relief camp – had been found in the area.

Search operations had been taking place in the area for the six missing persons, but in vain. Their alleged abduction had led to outrage both in Jiribam and the state’s central Meitei majority valley, with groups taking out demonstrations and demanding their release.