Manipur ethnic violence: 64 bodies handed over to families after Supreme Court directives

File Photo/PTI

In a significant development following the Manipur ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in May, 64 bodies of victims from the Kuki and Meitei communities were handed over to their respective families under stringent security measures.

The bodies, comprising 60 from the Kuki community and four from the Meitei community, had been stored in morgues across Manipur.

The airlifting of 60 Kuki bodies from JNIMS and RIMS hospitals in Imphal was conducted with tight security arrangements by Manipur Police and the Army's Assam Rifles unit.

Additionally, four Meitei bodies from a morgue in Churachandpur were transported to Imphal and handed over to their next of kin for the final rites.

This development comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's formation of a committee in August, consisting of former high court judges Justices Gita Mittal, Shalini Joshi, and Asha Menon. The committee was tasked with investigating the violence, providing relief, recommending remedial measures, compensation, and overseeing rehabilitation efforts in Manipur.

Based on the committee's recommendations, the Supreme Court issued directives for the burial or cremation of the victims, including 88 bodies that remained unclaimed by family members, by December 11. The court allowed either the relatives to claim and perform the last rites at specified burial sites or authorized the state to carry out the same in accordance with municipal laws.

As per the committee's report, a total of 175 deaths were reported during the ethnic clashes, with 169 bodies identified. Notably, only 81 out of the identified bodies were claimed by relatives. The report also highlighted the preservation of 94 unclaimed bodies in state-run mortuaries, emphasizing the financial burden on the state and the need for respectful last rites.

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With an additional 24 bodies believed to be of Kukis in the Churachandpur morgue, the officials expressed optimism that these bodies would also be claimed for the final rites. The ethnic clashes, triggered by protests against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, have claimed more than 170 lives and left several hundred injured since May 3. Manipur's population dynamics reflect the Meiteis constituting approximately 53% and tribals (Nagas and Kukis) slightly over 40%.

The Supreme Court, acknowledging the sensitivity of the situation, stressed the need to avoid keeping unidentified or unclaimed bodies indefinitely in mortuaries and permitted the state to proceed with burial or cremation, adhering to religious rites.