Imphal: The duration of the Manipur bandh call given by the Joint Action Committee against the disappearance of two students — Maibam Avinash, 16, and Ningthoujam Anthoujam, 19, has been extended from 4 am of November 10 to 1 pm of November 11 — a total of 33 hours.
Earlier, the period of bandh was for five hours scheduled to be held from 8 a.m. on November 10 till 1 pm on November 10.
The decision to extend the bandh duration was taken following the government’s failure to trace the two missing teenage boys who have gone missing since November 5, the JAC spokesperson Sunil told the media on Thursday.
In reply to a question posed by a reporter, the JAC spokesperson said that the Manipur police claimed to have arrested two suspects and recovered their mobile phones but the government has failed to give any positive response on their whereabouts to date.
The spokesperson further stated that the JAC along with civil society organisations, student bodies, and the general public will intensify agitation if the government fails to find the missing boys before the completion of the bandh period.
For the 4th day on Thursday, various organisations launched sit-in protests in various areas demanding early rescue of the missing boys.
The disappearance of the two teenage boys is the second such incident in the communal violence-hit Manipur.
Earlier, two young students including a girl Linthoingambi, and a boy Hemanjit went missing in July and photos of their suspected bodies went viral.