Impasse over handing bodies of 10 slain Hmar 'militants' to kin

AIZWAL/GUWAHATI: Tribal groups upped the ante Thursday for the bodies of 10 Hmar “militants” killed by forces in Manipur’s Jiribam to be taken back from Silchar Medical College in south Assam’s Cachar to their native village through Mizoram, where their Kuki-Zo brethren intend to honour them as “fallen heroes”.

Uncertainty over when the bodies would be handed to their families and how they would be ferried to Manipur added to the restiveness of protesters milling outside the medical college since the previous afternoon, alleging a deliberate delay in completing autopsies on the slain men.

Sources said the autopsy process ended Wednesday evening, but Manipur Police was now insisting on “DNA matching” before handing over the bodies to their kin.

“Matching the DNA of a deceased with his or her relatives is not part of any post-mortem formality unless the body is beyond identification,” said a former director of health and medical education in Mizoram.

Unconfirmed reports said the authorities were planning to take the bodies of the deceased, who the Hmar community claims were “village volunteers” from Jakhradawr in Jiribam, to Manipur’s Churachandpur by helicopter.

Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum issued a statement, saying any attempt to bypass Mizoram while taking the bodies to Manipur would be resisted. “Following talks, it was decided the martyrs must be transported by road through Mizoram and then to Lamka via Tipaimukh. Any other transportation modes won’t be accepted.”