Manipur: “If the police cannot, I will bring back my husband”, says the heartbroken wife of a man who has not returned home in over 89 days

Atom Samarendra Singh, 47, has been missing since May 6; three days after violence first broke out in Manipur. On that day, he ventured out of his house with a friend and they were on their way to Imphal bazaar, however, he never made it back home. By evening, his phone was switched off, and he, off the grid.

 
His family lodged a missing diary on that fateful day itself. The last traceable location of Atom was Sanghai Tel Olympic Park. His handset is currently in use, from a sensitive area in violence torn Manipur, an area not accessible to the police. Only the Assam Rifles have access to such volatile areas, however, they have been of no help in this case.

 
Team NTT visited Atom’s house and met with his family, his heartbroken wife Kavita anxiously looks forward to the much awaited homecoming of her husband Atom, who hasn’t returned home in over 89 days. “If the police cannot go, I will go there with my two sons and search for my husband. That is my responsibility”, said Kavita in between sobs. “I want all of you to help me look for my husband. It has already been three month and nobody could go there”, she added. The family fears that something untoward may have happed to Atom.

 
Kavita has left no stone unturned trying to locate her husband and bring him home. She has knocked on all doors, from the local MLA to the Chief Minister N. Biren Sigh, all unresponsive to her cause. “My husband was a central government employee. I want to ask them to bring him back. I have submitted a memorandum to the local authorities, as well as the chief minister. They have not responded till date”, she says after feeling let down by the authorities.

 
Atom and Kavita have two sons, they wish for the older son to become a scientist one day. Seventeen year old Thoimba dearly misses his father, the man he looked up to. To fill this unbearable void in his life, Thoimba at times looks up old photographs with his father on his mobile phone. The younger son is still oblivious to this tragic incident. “My younger son keeps asking me about his father, enquires when he will return home. What will I tell him?” asks Kavita, a helpless mother.

 
The wife is determined to find her husband; she is ready to go to any extent, to take matters in her own hands, to bring her loved one home, back to the family, back to where he belongs. “Who will look for my husband if I do not?” asks she. The violence that broke out in Manipur has claimed over 200 lives, thousands are displaced, and many lost, the families long for the ‘war’ to end, and the homecoming of their loved ones.