NEW DELHI: Extensive injuries were found on three of the six victims killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district, officials confirmed on Sunday. Forensic examination revealed multiple gunshot wounds and severe cuts across their bodies. The victims were discovered dead following a clash between security forces and suspected Kuki militants.
Three-year-old Chingkheinganba Singh’s autopsy report showed a bullet wound in the skull and a missing right eye.The report also noted cut wounds, fractures in the chest, and lacerations on the forearm and other body parts.
“The child’s body was in a ‘state of decomposition’,” revealed the report signed on November 17, reported PTI.
His mother, L Heitonbi Devi (25), had “three bullet wounds in the chest and one in the buttock”, according to the report. Y Rani Devi (60), the child’s grandmother, suffered five bullet wounds – one in the skull, two in the chest, one in the abdomen, and one in an arm. The reports also revealed deep lacerations on both women’s bodies.
The exact cause of death for all three victims is pending further analysis. The chemical analysis report of viscera is awaited from the Directorate of Forensic Sciences in Guwahati.
Post-mortem examinations were conducted at the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district. Reports for one more woman and two children are still pending.
The six deceased, belonging to the Meitei community, went missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight on November 11. The gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents. The bodies of the six victims were recovered from the Jiri river in Jiribam district and the Barak river in Assam’s Cachar over the following days. The discovery of the bodies led to large protests breaking out in the Imphal Valley.