Manipur: Bodies of woman, two children believed to have been missing for five days found in Jiribam

The bodies of a woman and two children, believed to be among the six Meitei persons who had been missing from Manipur’s Jiribam district since November 11, were found floating on the Barak river on Friday evening.

Their bodies were taken to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam for a post-mortem examination, a senior Assam Police official told Scroll.

Although family members were yet to identify the bodies, their descriptions matched three of those who had gone missing, The Indian Express quoted unidentified security officials as saying.

Three women and three children, including an infant, went missing from Jiribam after violence during which suspected Kuki militants had set some shops on fire in the Jakuradhor Karong area.

On the same day, suspected Kuki militants also attacked a Central Reserve Police Force post in Jakuradhor, after which ten of the suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces.

However, Kuki organisations have claimed that the individuals killed in the gunfight were village volunteers. The term “village volunteers” has been used for armed civilians guarding villages since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur in May 2023.

The six persons who had gone missing on November 11 were a grandmother, her two daughters and three grandchildren. Meitei groups had alleged that they were abducted by armed Hmar men when they attacked the area on Monday morning.

After the bodies were found on Friday evening, an emergency Cabinet meeting of the Manipur government was held around 10 pm. A decision was taken at the meeting to declare any organisations or individuals associated with the attack on women and children in Jiribam on November 11 as unlawful.

On Saturday morning, Hmar protestors threw stones at security personnel outside the Silchar Medical College and Hospital when bodies of the ten persons killed in the November 11 gunfight were being taken from there to Manipur’s Churachandpur district.

The police baton-charged the protestors to bring the situation under control.

Protests also erupted in the Imphal Valley after the three bodies were found in Jiribam, The Times of India reported. Protestors, who were primarily women, blocked major roads in the Kwakeithel area and Sagolband Tera in Imphal West, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officials as saying.

Protestors also took to the streets in Bishnupur’s Ningthoukhong and Lamlong in Imphal East.

At least 255 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the clashes broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars in May 2023. There has been an uptick in violence in the past week, with at least 17 persons having been killed since November 7.