Kanggui: Assam Rifles successfully located four Kuki villagers who went missing in the forest area of Senapati district on Monday morning. The operation brought relief to Hengbung and Taphou Kuki villages after hours of uncertainty when a woodcutting group failed to return from the upper hills of Hengbung.
According to Assam Rifles, five villagers had gone to the forest area locally known as Parsai Khutti, above Hengbung village, for woodcutting at around 9 am. The group included residents from both Hengbung and Taphou Kuki. At around 10:30 am, armed individuals arrived at the spot and attempted to apprehend the woodcutters.
In the ensuing chaos, one member of the group managed to escape from the spot and run back to alert the villages. He has been identified as Lunjamang Kipgen, 37, of Hengbung village. The remaining four could not be contacted and were reported missing in the jungle, prompting immediate information to be shared with security forces.
Acting on the alert, Assam Rifles launched a search operation without delay. Two teams were deployed into the dense forest region of upper Hengbung to trace the missing persons. The troops carried out a coordinated combing operation, covering a wide stretch of jungle terrain where the woodcutters were last seen.
After about three hours of intensive search, all four missing individuals were found safe inside the forest. They were identified as Hemang Vaiphei, 58, from Hengbung village, Minlal Chongloi, 45, from Taphou Kuki village, Ngampu Chongloi, 39, from Taphou Kuki village, and Hethem Chongloi, 40, from Taphou Kuki village. All were brought to a safe location and handed over to their respective village authorities.
Officials said the timely sharing of information by villagers and the swift response by Assam Rifles helped avert a potentially serious situation. The prompt action ensured that the four villagers, who had scattered and lost their way in the forest after the scare, were reunited with their families without any harm.
