28-year-old man feared drowned in Chathe river

DIMAPUR — A 28-year-old man identified as Hutoka Yepthomi from Lotovi village in Niuland district was reported to have drowned in the Chathe river on July 28.

An intensive search operation, conducted jointly by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel along with the village council and local youth, proved unsuccessful on Tuesday.

An official from SDRF reported that the search, which began at 6 am, was called off at 5 pm.

Also read: Best Farmers Award presented in Tseminyu

According to eyewitness accounts, Hutoka Yepthomi was last seen at Khughovi Bridge on the evening of July 28. He reportedly expressed a desire to take his own life following an argument with his elder brother. It was learnt that he got married in January of this year.

After being alerted, the village council and youth of Lotovi initiated a search operation at around 7 pm the same day. However, they were forced to call it off due to poor visibility and strong currents in the river. It was reported that Hutoka's clothing was found near the riverbank.

The SDRF team is expected to resume the search on Wednesday. A total of 15 SDRF personnel engaged in the operation.