Assam: The post-mortem examination of five bodies, believed to be victims of abductions in Manipur’s Jiribam district, has been completed at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam, sources confirmed on Monday.
The victims, six people including three women and three children from the Meitei community, had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam’s Borobekra area on November 11, allegedly abducted by Kuki-Zo militants. Over the past few days, the bodies were found floating in the Jiri River in Jiribam and the Barak River in Assam’s Cachar district in a “highly decomposed state.”
The bodies of five individuals, which were recovered from the two rivers, have now been post-mortem examined, and doctors are preparing the final reports. The bodies were identified as Yurembam Rani (60), Telem Thoibi Devi (31), her daughter Telem Thajamanbi Devi (8), Laishram Heithoibi Devi (25), and her two children, Laishram Chingkheinganba Singh (2½ years) and Lamngaba Sing (8 months).
Following the post-mortem, authorities are making arrangements for the return of the bodies to Manipur, though the timeline for this is still uncertain. One person remains missing, and search operations are ongoing in the Barak River by Assam Police, who have been coordinating with their counterparts in Manipur.
On Sunday, the bodies of a woman and two children were found in the Jiri River, and two more bodies, a woman and a child, were recovered from the Barak River. According to Assam Police officials, the six individuals were likely murdered and thrown into the rivers.
In response to the tragic incident, hundreds of Meitei residents gathered for a candlelight protest in Silchar, condemning the abduction and suspected murder of the victims.
The violence in Jiribam has been escalating in recent weeks, especially after the discovery of a mutilated body of a farmer earlier in June. This has added to the ongoing ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that has claimed over 220 lives and displaced thousands in the region since May last year. Authorities have heightened security measures, including round-the-clock patrolling in the border areas of Jiribam and surrounding districts.
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