'Where Do We Bury?': Kin on Unclaimed Bodies Of Those Killed in Manipur Violence

State records show that 94 bodies are lying unclaimed in majorly three big mortuaries in Manipur – JNIMS and RIMS in Imphal, and the Churachandpur District Hospital.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

“We have not been able to claim my brother-in-law’s body, which is lying in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JINMS) morgue since September. We have made several requests to the government to hand over the body to us, but there has been no word on it. If nothing, we want to bid him a proper goodbye and with grace,” says Ruth Baite (name changed), a resident of Pallel in Manipur's Tengnoupal district.

Ruth’s brother-in-law was allegedly caught in a crossfire in Pallel between armed miscreants and security forces near a Kuki-Zo settlement on 8 September.

Ruth’s family, who are Kukis, asserts that it is "dangerous" for them to travel to Meitei-majority Imphal, where JNIMS is located, to claim the body.

“The fear of travelling to Meitei-dominated areas is so high that it has discouraged many tribal families we know from even claiming the bodies that have been left in the morgue,“ she adds.

Ruth's family is not alone in this ordeal. A mix of logistical and sentimental reasons has meant that most of the grief-stricken families have not cremated or buried their loved ones.

In the wake of an impasse over the bodies of those killed in the Manipur violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 28 November, fixed a deadline of two weeks for families to either accept the identified corpses that have not been claimed yet or let the state perform their last rites in line with their religion.

What Did the SC Say? 

Stressing that it “cannot let the pot keep boiling” over dead bodies, the apex court issued directives for the burial or cremation of all those killed in the ethnic violence in the state, including 88 who have been identified but not claimed by their next of kin, by 11 December.

According to The Indian Express, about 175 people are estimated to have lost their lives in the ethnic violence since May this year.

State records show that 94 bodies are lying unclaimed in majorly three big mortuaries in Manipur – JNIMS and Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal, and the Churachandpur District Hospital.

Among these, six bodies are unidentified. The remaining 88 have been identified but unclaimed – and are majorly from the minority Kuki community.

“The state administration shall issue communication to the next of kin on or before 4 December, stating that they are permitted to carry out last rites with requisite religious observance, within the next one week at any of the nine sites designated by the state (11 December),” recorded the court order.

The court also said that the "state administration may take necessary facilitative steps so that next of kin in relief camps or otherwise are able to access the bodies... The chief secretary, together with the state administration, shall take an appropriate decision in this regard.”

'Have No Place to Cremate Our Cousin'

On 25 May, Toijam Chandramani, who was a resident of Thengra Leirak in Churachandpur district, succumbed to a bullet injury he had sustained two days earlier.

Chandramani’s body has been lying in the morgue in Imphal’s RIMS since then.

Chandramani’s family was forced to flee Churachandpur after the violence on 3 May and has been living in a refugee camp in Bishnupur’s Moirang area since then.

"We are displaced now and we don't know where to cremate (him). We will not be able to give him a proper send off in such a situation, "Ranjan Huidrom, a cousin of Chandramani, told The Quint.

Ruth and Chandramani's families hope that their plight may come to an end soon in light of the apex court's order.

Top Court Blames Civil Society Organisations for Delay in Disposal of Bodies 

A bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, further rejected the idea of mass burials, observing that it does not want the situation to deteriorate by allowing the burials to be converted into a form of protest.

Although the panel has not specifically named the incident, it alludes to the row that erupted in August when the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), which is the apex body representing the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, announced that it would conduct burial of 35 bodies in Torbung, an area in the Kuki-Zomi dominated Churachandpur district, bordering the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district.

This had prompted the Centre's intervention, which asked the outfit to postpone the burial, and the Manipur government had proposed nine alternative burial sites.

The panel also noted that civil society organisations active in Manipur were exerting “tremendous pressure” on relatives not to accept the 88 bodies.

The panel added that these organsations are "opposing and obstructing the performance of last rites by relatives on account of vested interests, and even in order to derive mileage and to compel authorities to meet unwarranted demands."

The panel called it unfortunate that they are insisting on mass burials at unsuitable spots, which it said will serve as a source for constant mounting of tension between communities in Manipur and prevent restoration of normalcy.

The ITLF, however, has denied that the outfit was pressuring the kin of those deceased to accept the bodies.

"We are not pressurising anyone to do anything. Many of our people are still living in camps and away from our homes. Under such circumstances, where do they even bury their loved ones, " ITLF spokesperson Ginza Vaulzong told The Quint.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (or COCOMI), a joint body of Meitei civil society organisations, has not responded to The Quint's queries on the top court's observation.