unrest-in-silchar-as-bodies-of-10-kuki-men-still-in-mortuary

Tensions flared outside Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) as the bodies of 10 Hmar men, killed in an encounter with security forces in Jiribam, remain in the mortuary four days after the incident. 

 

On Thursday evening, members of the Hmar community gathered at the hospital, demanding the release of the bodies.

 

Chanting slogans like "return our martyrs," the protesters expressed their anguish on the deaths and demanded justice for those they honoured as the "fallen heroes" of their community.

 

The men, hailing from Churachandpur and Pherzawl, were gunned down on Monday in Jiribam’s Borobekra and Jakuradhor areas, allegedly after they fired at a CRPF camp and a nearby police station.

 

The bodies were taken to SMCH for post-mortem, but as of Thursday evening, they remained at the hospital.

 

Hospital authorities confirmed that post-mortems had begun on Tuesday but were halted on Wednesday due to the absence of necessary documentation from the Jiribam police.

 

Post-mortem examinations resumed on Thursday afternoon and were completed by evening.

 

Alongside the 10 Hmar men, two elderly Meitei men were also found dead in their homes after Monday's attack and had their bodies sent to SMCH.

 

According to the hospital, post-mortems on six of the Hmar men were conducted earlier in the week.

 

Community members and leaders, including John Hmar from the Indigenous Tribal Advocacy Forum, have questioned the need for DNA testing, with the bodies being easily identifiable.

 

"Some of our representatives met the doctor in charge of forensics who told them that he had received an order to conduct DNA tests with next of kin, who are not here but in their home villages, for identification of the bodies… We do not know why there should be any need for DNA testing. Their bodies are not burned or unrecognisable," Hmar said.

 

Meanwhile, the search for three Meitei women and three children, missing since Monday’s violence, has yet to yield any results.

 

With the situation still tense in Jiribam, police in neighbouring Cachar have stepped up patrols and searches along the Assam-Manipur border and the Barak River.