Manipur: Last rites of nine people held amid tight security in Jiribam

PTI, IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 22, 2024 : The last rites of the nine persons, including three women and three children, belonging to the Meitei community, were held amid tight security in Manipur's Jiribam district on Friday, officials said. The bodies were brought to Jiribam from the nearby Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam's Cachar district, with hundreds of people lining the two sides of the road to pay their tributes.

The bodies were taken to the SMCH for post-mortem examinations. They were brought back after the Joint Action Committee, formed in response to the killing of these nine people, relented as the state government referred the case to the NIA for investigation.

A few people, including three women and three children, went missing after a gunfight between security forces and armed Kuk-Zomen broke out on November 11. The gunfight erupted after these armed men allegedly attacked the Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp, leading to the deaths of 10 suspected insurgents.

These missing women and children, allegedly abducted by the retreating insurgents, were living in a relief camp that was set up in the police station's compound. A day after the attack, the charred bodies of two elderly men were found in the burnt debris of torched houses and shops at the nearby Jakuradhor market.

In the following days, the bodies of the missing women and children were found floating in the Jiri and Barak rivers in Jiribam and Assam's Cachar district, respectively. Following the discovery of the bodies, violence broke out in Jiribam and Imphal Valley. A protester, identified as Kh Athouba, was killed in firing allegedly by security forces. His body was also taken to SMCH for post-mortem examination.

Initially, the Joint Action Committee decided against bringing the bodies for last rites until the state government assured it of action against those responsible for the killing of the nine persons. The committee also demanded compensation for the victims' families and government jobs for their relatives.

Ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the ethnic clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.