Imphal, March 23 -- Police assumed two students, Maibam Avinash, 16, and Ningthoujam Anthony, 19, were dead after they were listed among the 33 individuals missing in the ongoing violence in Manipur.

On Sunday, their families performed the last rites following Meitei customary practices in Imphal West.

Without the bodies, the families used the bark of the "Pangong tree" as a symbolic representation of the deceased and proceeded last rites.

Avinash, son of Hemanta from Lamsang Phumlou Lambi Akham Awang Leikai, and Anthony, son of (L) Sunder from Lamsang Akham, were last seen on November 5, 2023, crossing the Kanglatongbi Bridge between Imphal West and Kangpokpi, heading north on a motorcycle, as captured in CCTV footage.

Ch Basanta, a ...