Last rites performed for two missing men
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 15 2023:
The last rites of two missing Meitei men who have been assumed dead were performed today with thousands of people turning up to mourn and pay their last respects.
Atom Samarendra (47) and Yumkhaibam Kirankumar (47), both hailing from Khumbong Mayai Leikai, Imphal West went missing on May 6, 2023 .
The two went out in Samarendra's car at around 11 am on May 6.Their mobile phones went dead at around 4.30 pm of the same day.
The location of the last call they made was traced to Saheibung village near Sangaithel, Imphal West.
After the Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists launched their aggression on May 3, Samarendra and Kirankumar were the first of the many missing cases.
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In these missing cases, the victims were never seen again nor were their bodies found after they were feared taken captives by Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists, their collaborators and supporters.
With their dead bodies untraceable, the last rites were performed with Pangong replicas as per Meitei customs.
Assuming that both Samarendra and Kirankumar were murdered by Kuki militants and their supporters in the course of their offensive against the Meitei people, they have been hailed as martyrs who laid down their lives for the cause of Manipur's integrity.
After the Pangong replicas of their mortal remains were buried amid a heart-wrenching and tearful scene of final farewell, two memorial stones were unveiled in their memory.
The memorial stones installed in the premises of Imphal West Students Club, Khumbong were unveiled by All Manipur Working Journalist Union (AMWJU) president Bijoy Kakchingtabam and Imphal West Students Club president Oinam Samarendra.
The people gathered for the funeral also paid floral tributes to the memorial stones.
Oinam Samarendra said that the local club and local people decided to perform the last rites of the two martyrs with Pangong replicas after consulting their families as their bodies could not be located all these days.
He then called upon all the indigenous people of the land to stand firm and united against the Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists' mayhem which is driven by a sinister design to fragment Manipur.
He also appealed to all the people to fight till the last man standing so as to protect Manipur from the onslaught of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists.
Notably, Atom Samarendra served as the general secretary of Imphal West Students Club for a long time while Yumkhaibam Kirankumar served as an active member.
Atom Samarendra worked at The Sangai Express as Staff Reporter and Sub-Editor for six years till 2006 before he joined the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) as a management staff.
Health Minister Dr Sapam Ranjan, ex-MP Dr T Meinya, Khelen Thokchom Memorial Trust chairperson Thokchom (O) Memcha, The Sangai Express (Manipuri edition) Editor and Editors' Guild Manipur president Khogendra Khomdram, officials and staff of IBSD too attended the funeral.
At the end of the funeral, Khogendra Khomdram, Bijoy Kakchingtabam and Oinam Samarendra spoke on the works and contributions of the two martyrs.
All shops and markets of Khumbong area were shut during the funeral as a mark of respect to the martyrs.