Assam youths missing in Arunachal: Car recovered, one body identified

A day after reports that four Assam youths had reportedly gone missing in Arunachal’s West Kameng district, a vehicle and three bodies were spotted lying in an over 500-foot-deep gorge at Nechiphu village in Jamiri circle of the same district by the Arunachal Pradesh Police.

The Arunachal Police informed their Assam counterpart about the incident on Friday around noon.

Speaking to EastMojo, Nagaon deputy superintendent of police (headquarter) Tridip Kumbang said, “The Arunachal Pradesh Police has informed us that such an incident has taken place. But they are not being able to retrieve either the bodies or the ill-fated car. As of now, they have pressed a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) into service to retrieve the bodies along with the car and only after that, it could be ascertained that these were the same youths from Assam who went missing in the Dirang valley.”

“Meanwhile, we have sent a team to the homes of the youths who belong to Nagaon to inform their family about the incident as they approached us on Thursday to inform us that the youths are missing since July 19.” 

The youths, Nayan Basumatary (30) and Bedanta Bormoina (30) from Nagaon district, Hirok Boro (32), a resident of Sonapur in Kamrup Metropolitan district and Sanjib Das (34), from Rangapara town in Sonitpur district, reportedly left for Tawang from Nagaon on Monday in a Volkswagen hatchback bearing registration number AS01-BP-0605. They went missing after reaching Dirang valley in the West Kameng district. The whereabouts of the youths remained unknown and all attempts to contact them over the phone proved futile. 

Both Bedanta and Nayan are bikers affiliated with several bike-riders clubs and often used to go on such adventure trips.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media, the in-charge of Haibargaon town police outpost in Nagaon, Taranga Patowary confirmed that the body of one of the deceased was of Bedanta Bormoina.

This has led to speculations that the remaining two bodies belong to other youths from the same group, but the authorities are yet to confirm the same. However, the whereabouts of the fourth occupant of the vehicle are yet to be known as his body hasn’t been spotted.

Earlier this year, Nechiphu hit the headlines when the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on May 20 had completed the excavation of the 500 m Nechiphu tunnel between Km 82 to 88 along the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road, which connects Balipara in Assam to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China, is located at an altitude of 5700 ft.

This is one of the many tunnels conceived by BRO along border areas to improve existing road geometrics, avoid foggy areas, circumvent slide-prone areas and reduce black spots on the roads to offer greater safety and all-weather connectivity to the military and civil traffic movement.

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