Manipur: Bodies of 64 victims of violence handed over to families

Last month, the Supreme Court had told the Manipur government to ensure a dignified burial or cremation of those killed in the violence by December 11.

Dec 15, 2023 - 00:30

Manipur: Bodies of 64 victims of violence handed over to families

The bodies of 64 persons who were killed in ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis in Manipur were handed over to their families on Thursday.

The bodies had been lying in mortuaries since the conflict broke out. Sixty of them were Kukis while four of them were Meiteis.

Forty-one bodies that were in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal were brought to the Churachandpur district, while 19 were taken to Kangpokpi, an official told Scroll. Four bodies of Meiteis that were at a morgue in Churachandpur were brought to Imphal.

The Committee on Tribal Unity said that the burial rites of the “fallen Kuki-Zo brethren” will be held on Friday.

The organisation has called for a 12-hour shutdown in the Sadar Hills area of Kangpokpi from 5 am to 5 pm for the funeral services and appealed to the general public to cooperate.

Manipur has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since early May. Over 175 people have been killed since the ethnic conflict broke out, according to police records. Nearly 60,000 persons have been forced to flee their homes.

A Supreme Court-appointed committee in its report on November 20 said that of the 94 unclaimed bodies in three state mortuaries, 88 had been...