The 33-hour long Manipur bandh that evoked near total response in the valley districts of the strife-hit state passed off peacefully on Saturday.
The bandh called by a Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed in connection with the recent disappearance of the two teenagers.
The JAC imposed the bandh to register a strong resentment over the state government’s alleged inaction to trace the missing teenagers even after the police claimed arrest of two cadres of a Kuki based militant group as suspects in the missing case.
Meanwhile, mothers of the two missing teenagers who said they have lost faith in the government were still hopeful that their children were alive and would return home unharmed.
“I believe my son is still alive, and if he does not return, I will be unable to survive,” said one of the mothers of the two teenagers who have been missing since November 5.
The two teenage students– Maibam Avinash (16) and Ningthoujam Anthony (19), both from Akham Leikai of Imphal West district– disappeared after they reportedly proceeded towards Kuki dominated Kangpokpi district along NH-2 on November 5 last.
Premlata, the mother of Ningthoujam Anthony was hopeful that her son and his friend might have ventured beyond Sekmai into Kuki dominated Kangpokpi district unknowingly or mistakenly. She said that the incident would not have occurred if security had been stationed in the buffer zone between Sekmai (Imphal West) and Kanglatombi (Kangpokpi).
Avinash’s mother Maibam Debrani blamed the state government for failing to find her son even after six days since his disappearance. She alleged that Governor Anusuiya Uikey and chief minister N Biren Singh failed to keep their commitments.
She claimed that during the meeting with the Governor and the chief minister on November 6, both promised that her son would be returned to her within a day.
“But it has now been six days since my son went missing, the government didn’t say anything,” she cried.