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Relief for Manipur families as bodies laid to rest; but demand for justice remains
On Thursday, bodives of 64 victims of the ethnic violence were airlifted by security forces from three morgues – two in Meitei-dominated Imphal and one in Kuki-majority Churachandpur – and shifted to areas where the next of kin reside
Guwahati: After a long seven-month wait, the mortal remains of 23 victims of the Manipur ethnic violence were buried at Phaijang village in Kangpokpi in a mass burial program followed by rituals performed by church leaders.
On Thursday, bodies of 64 victims of the ethnic violence were airlifted by security forces from three morgues – two in Meitei-dominated Imphal and one in Kuki-majority Churachandpur – and shifted to areas where the next of kin reside. While 41 bodies of Kukis were moved to Churachandpur, 19 were taken to Kangpokpi and the remains of four Meiteis were shifted to Imphal.
“It’s a big relief for the family to get the body of my daughter back after seven months and bury her ahead of Christmas. But apart from the mass burial, I would like to perform a memorial service later at the relief camp in Saikul where all of us are staying these days,” said the father of a girl killed in the violence on May 4, a day after the violence broke out.
While the arrival of the bodies and the last rites have brought some relief and closure for most families, the demand for justice and action against those responsible for the deaths still troubles them.
“We have witnessed a lot of turmoil in the past seven months. Friday’s ceremony brought some relief, but we are still sad as the demand for justice remains. The accused who killed my cousin and Florence are yet to be apprehended despite us giving their details to the investigating agencies. They should be nabbed and convicted,” said Andrew Chongloi, another victim’s cousin.
Friday’s ceremony saw the burial of 23 victims. While most of them were in their 20s and 30s, the oldest among them was Vienem Chongloi, an 85-year-old woman, and the youngest was a 7-year-old boy.
“The burial ceremony marks the end of one chapter, but there has been no action yet on those who killed my wife and son. We want justice. To date, we have received just Rs.2.5 lakh of the Rs,10 lakh compensation announced by the government to families of victims. If I get the rest of that sum, it will help in the education of my 16-year-old boy and 13-year-old daughter,” said the father of the young boy over the phone from Kangpokpi.
Friday’s mass burial event saw the participation of not just family members and relatives but hundreds of other members from the Kuki-Zo community in Kangpokpi district. Apart from the rituals, the victims were also given a gun salute by the village defence volunteers.
“We appreciate the Supreme Court for directing the state to hand over the mortal remains of our fallen brethren to us. We would also like to thank the Assam Rifles for the transportation of the bodies. We are grateful to the public for supporting us in times of our grief by adhering to our 12-hour-shutdown (on Friday in memory of the victims),” said the Committee for Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation based in Kangpokpi district, said in a statement.
The development, which ended months of uneasy wait for the families of the victims, came after the Supreme Court issued an order on November 28 for dignified disposal of the unclaimed bodies.
Following the top court’s order, the Manipur government sent multiple notifications to the victims’ families, asking them to claim the bodies for the last rites to be performed at five designated locations.
The bodies, which were kept for months in the morgues at hospitals were airlifted to Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts amid tight security arrangements put in place by the Manipur Police and Assam Riffles.
Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Kuki organisation, said an event like the one held on Friday is likely to be held at Churachandpur next week where the remains of the 41 victims, who were airlifted from Imphal on Thursday, will be buried.
According to a list submitted by the state government in the Supreme Court last month, of the 169 identified bodies, only 81 were claimed by the relatives of the victims while 88 bodies remained unclaimed in the morgues.
At least 196 people have been killed and around 50,000 displaced in Manipur since May 3, when the ethnic violence started in the northeastern state between numerically dominant Meiteis, who predominantly live in the Valley, and tribal Kuki community, who are in majority in a few hill districts.
