Manipur Violence: As Manipur witnesses a fresh spate of violence, the headless body of a two-and-a-half-year-old Meitei child and the partially decomposed remains of his grandmother have been discovered in a river near Jiribam in Manipur. The two, identified as L Chingheinganba and Y Rani Devi, were among six family members abducted by suspected Kuki militants on Monday during an encounter between insurgents and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Laisharam Herojit, a relief camp resident from the Meitei community, received the devastating news about his family. Speaking to NDTV from Jiribam, Herojit confirmed, "It is true." His son’s headless and armless body was found entangled in tree branches floating in the river, while the semi-naked body of his 60-year-old mother-in-law was discovered face down, NDTV reported.
The victims, Herojit’s two children, wife, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and her son, had been taken hostage during a fierce clash in Jiribam’s Borobekra, some 220 km from Imphal. On Friday evening, the bodies of Herojit’s eight-month-old child, his sister-in-law, and her eight-year-old daughter were brought to a hospital morgue in Silchar, Assam. Authorities confirmed the death of all six family members, although Herojit’s wife’s body is yet to be recovered.
Meanwhile, the funeral of 10 Kuki-Zo youths, killed in what the Manipur Police claimed was a gunfight with security forces, has been delayed until post-mortem reports are handed over to the families. According to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a key organisation representing the Kuki-Zo community, the bodies are being held at a local hospital morgue, news agency PTI reported. Ginza Vualzong, an ITLF spokesperson, stated to PTI, “We have not received the post-mortem examination documents yet. Without those, we cannot touch the bodies because if we tamper with the bodies, there could be some legality issues.”
The deceased youths, described by ITLF as village volunteers, had their autopsies conducted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam. Vualzong expressed frustration, saying, “We are waiting for the documents. I don’t know what is going on, maybe things are very fishy! If we do not receive the reports, then we will have to do the post-mortem examination here again.” The ITLF is considering conducting fresh autopsies at Churachandpur District Hospital if necessary.
The bodies were airlifted from Silchar to Churachandpur on Saturday, amid clashes between grieving family members and police outside SMCH. Assam Police officials had attempted to pacify the agitated crowd, but stone pelting and scuffles ensued, leading to injuries. Eventually, the family members accepted a proposal for both Manipur and Assam Police to coordinate the airlifting of the bodies, as per PTI.
The Manipur Police claimed that the deceased were among militants who attacked Borobekra Police Station and a nearby CRPF camp at Jakuradhor. The militants, dressed in camouflage and wielding sophisticated weapons, had allegedly kidnapped six civilians, including women and children.
The ethnic conflict in Manipur, which began in May last year following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ against the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, has claimed over 220 lives and displaced thousands. The violence, involving the Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hill-dwelling Kuki-Zo groups, has recently intensified in areas like Jiribam, which had previously remained relatively unaffected.
