‘Charred, Not Recognisable’: Post-mortem Report of Jiribam Teacher Burnt Alive

The 31-year-old victim belonged to the Hmar tribe — and was a teacher at a local English medium school.

Trigger warning: Descriptions of physical violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Days after Zosangkim, a 31-year-old tribal woman, was allegedly burnt to death in Manipur's Jiribam, a post-mortem report conducted at Silchar Medical College confirmed the cause of death as "third-degree mixed flame antemortem burns", covering 99% of her body.

'Antemortem' means 'before death', which means Zosangkim was alive when she suffered those burns, according to the report (accessed by The Quint).

On the night of 7 November, militants belonging to the Meitei militant outfit Arambai Tenggol attacked the tribal village Zairawn in Jiribam district on the Assam-Manipur border.

The local police told the media that at least seven houses were torched in the arson, without providing any more details of the attack. The Quint tried reaching out to the police with additional queries, but they remained unavailable to comment. Meanwhile, in a statement issued by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, locals claimed, "While most villagers managed to escape into the adjoining forest, a 31-year-old woman was captured, raped, and burned to death by the Meitei militants."

Zosangkim belonged to the Hmar tribe and worked as a schoolteacher at a local English medium school. Her husband and three children were present at the time of the incident. The husband, Ngurthansang, in a complaint addressed to Jiribam Superintendent of Police (accessed by The Quint), alleged that Zosangkim was raped and burnt alive at around 9 pm by "fully armed group Meitei militants, Arambai Tenggol."

The complaint reads, "I, the undersigned would like to bring this to your kind notice that my wife named ZOSANGKIM (31 years) from Jairolpokpi (Zairawn), Jiribam, Manipur, Mother of three was brutally murdered (Raped and burnt alive) on the fateful night of 7 November, 2024 around 9:00 pm at our residence located at Jairolpokpi (Zairawn), Jiribam by Fully Armed Meitei Militants — Arambai Tenggol & MPA. My house was also looted and burnt down at night."

‘Body Completely Charred’

The Quint spoke to Ngurthansang's friend from a nearby village, who said that Zosangkim could not escape because she was shot at. "She could not flee, and so she told her husband to leave her behind with the three children. He is still extremely traumatised," said Rema.

The post-mortem report, however, could not prove Ngurthansang‘s claim of rape because his wife’s body was "completely charred". The report notes that "vaginal smear for microscopy... could not be taken as the body parts were completely charred and not recognisable." A senior doctor who The Quint spoke to explained that because the body is completely burned (99%), it would take an extremely expensive and high-tech forensic examination to determine whether she was raped. "Right now, there is nothing left of the body to examine, that's how badly it has been burned," he said.

Kuki groups have also alleged that Zosangkim was tortured by the militants before being burnt to death. The post-mortem, however, reads, "Burnt and separated fragments of bone did not show any signs of vital reaction indicating the post mortem nature of separation," i.e., the separation of the fragments of the bone occurred after she had died.

The senior doctor also explained that in some cases, the burns are so intense that they gradually melt the bone, separating it into fragments. This could likely explain sections of the report that state, "Left femur found separated in two pieces with edges burnt and charred just above the knee joint" and "skull found separated and burnt in pieces."

There are parts of the post-mortem that raise questions. For example, the report mentions the presence of a 5 cm-long metallic nail on the left thigh and another wound on the back of the right thigh.

Violence Continues Unabated

Zosangkim's death, and the attack on the tribal village, have been followed by multiple other acts of violence and what appear to be ‘retaliatory violence’ in Manipur.

Suspected extremists allegedly shot a woman dead on 9 November in the Bishnupur district of the Imphal Valley. Manipur Police told the media that armed miscreants suspected to be Kuki-Zo groups fired at a group of farmers at a paddy field in Lailampat.

Then, at least 10 Hmar men were killed in an encounter with CRPF personnel in Jiribam District on 11 November.

Manipur Police stated that the 10 armed Kuki “militants” were killed in “retaliatory firing”, and that they were armed with "heavy sophisticated weapons, including RPG and automatic weapons." The bodies of the deceased were brought to Silchar Medical College, and the report is yet to be released. All the men belong to Churachandpur, and according to the Hmar Students Association, they were in Jiribam to function as Hmar Village Volunteers (HVV).

According to the Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee, "The deceased village volunteers were savagely tortured before they died." However, the post-mortem report is yet to be released.

Then, according to Manipur Police, three women and three children, including an eight-month-old infant, were allegedly abducted, and two elderly persons were burnt to death during the CRPF encounter. The bodies of Laishram Barel Singh (61) and Maibam Keshwo Singh (75) were recovered by the police from houses in Jakuradhor on 12 November. The two were among the 10 people residing in a relief camp in Borobekra police station. The six abducted are part of a group of 13 displaced people living close to the CRPF camp in Jiribam.

Y Surjitkumar, media coordinator of the COCOMI, a joint body of Meitei civil society organisations, threatened a people’s uprising if the state and central forces did not rescue the abducted villagers.

The violence has sparked outrage and protests from both communities. A total shutdown was observed this week in both the Valley and the Hill areas to protest the killings, with schools, markets and other establishments remaining closed.

The Quint has tried to contact the Jiribam SP for further information. This report shall be updated as and when the same is received. 

Jiribam previously witnessed violence in September this year, when six people were killed in gun violence during the early hours of 7 September. The full report of this episode can be found here.

Jiribam, which is a mixed district consisting of both Meiteis and Kukis in significant numbers, had remained a site of peace for more than a year despite the ongoing violence in other parts of the state.

However, the alleged killing of a 59-year-old Meitei farmer on 6 June, weeks after the body of a missing teenage Kuki-Zo boy was discovered in the Jiri River, allegedly led to retaliatory attacks and the consequent displacement of about 2,000 people, many of whom fled to the relief camps in Assam's Cachar district.

The Quint visited some of the families in these camps. The video report is attached below.