Imphal: The bodies of the dead bear witness to the explosive but intimate savagery: Faces deformed by trauma, flesh hacked through with a ferocity that can only be powered by pure hatred. The smell of death hangs in the air, emanating from corpses stacked inside simple wooden coffins, and swaddled with layers of polythene — decomposing because there is no-one to claim them and give them a proper burial.
At the post-mortem examination rooms in Manipur’s two top hospitals, the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal East and Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal West, the doctors have been recording the signs ever since violence first washed over the state violence on 3 May.
This weekend, a senior doctor at JNIMS described the inflicted injuries as “gruesome” and “disturbing”. “In most bodies, there are multiple stab wounds, blunt force injuries, the faces have been disfigured, there are cuts and slits all over the body that have been inflicted. The bodies are mutilated,” the doctor said, requesting anonymity.
These are some of the 175 victims of the ethnic violence — according to the state government data — that has rocked Manipur since May, when simmering tensions between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities erupted into full-fledged clashes. The violence has left behind a trail of bloodshed, brutality and fear.
Despite a history of violence in the region, the doctor said that what unfolded in Manipur was “unprecedented”. “As doctors, we are used to seeing cases of murders, and accidents, but the sheer volume of such killings was overwhelming,” the doctor added.
Moreover, the two hospitals are also facing another challenge — disposing of the unclaimed bodies that are lying in their morgues and posing a serious health risk. The division between the Meiteis in the valley and Kukis in the hills have prevented people from claiming their dead due to the fear of entering areas dominated by the other community, sources told ThePrint.
According to sources in the JNIMS, most of the unclaimed bodies are that of Kukis.
The doctor said that the first few months were difficult, but the situation now seems to be limping back to normalcy. “Now, we are not receiving as many cases (bodies). The frequency has reduced, but bodies are still coming in,” the doctor added.
According to the government data, 175 people have been killed in the violence since 3 May and bullet wounds are responsible for the highest number of deaths. Simmering ethnic tensions erupted into full-fledged violence between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities on 3 May.
While JNIMS carried out post mortems on 61 bodies in just three months, RIMS carried out 56 postmortems, and in the majority of cases a firearm wound, besides other injuries, was found to be the cause of death, according to hospital records.
A few postmortems were also carried out in the district hospital in Churachandpur, where a team of doctors were sent from JNIMS, a senior doctor at JNIMS said.
“In the majority of cases, the death was found to be because of fire injury, which shows how openly arms are being used to kill,” the doctor said.
What is, however, disturbing is the brutal nature of injuries, he added.
Over four months have passed since more than 200 AK-47s, 406 carbines, 551 INSAS rifles, 250 machine guns, and over 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries and stations, primarily in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley.
However, there have been no substantial recoveries, leaving a significant arsenal in the hands of locals and exacerbating the cycle of violence. According to police data, of the 5,668 stolen sophisticated automatic weapons, only around 1,331 have been recovered so far.
The violence has continued even after four months, with incidents of killings reported from different parts of the state. On Wednesday, Onkhomang Haokip, a Kuki police officer, was reportedly shot dead at N Chingphei village, close to Churachandpur’s boundary with Bishnupur. Last week, three Kukis were killed in a village in Tangkhul Naga-dominated Ukhrul district, which had been relatively peaceful till now.
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‘A health hazard, no dignity for dead’
The two hospitals — JNIMS and RIMS — are now grappling with the mounting challenge of handling the unclaimed bodies that have piled up in their morgues and are becoming a serious health hazard.
When ThePrint visited JNIMS Saturday, 26 wooden coffins lay in two locked rooms at the mortuary. Inside, embalmed bodies are encased in multiple layers of polythene, amid sweltering conditions with just a single exhaust fan, devoid of any air conditioning.
Similarly, at RIMS, 28 such bodies await their fate, and in Churachandpur, 42 bodies are in the morgue — all rotten and decomposed beyond recognition.
All these, the doctor quoted above said, are victims of violent clashes that now pose a significant health hazard within their respective hospital premises, where the staff are working to maintain the area, combat the stench and ensure cleanliness.
According to sources, the two hospitals have written to the state government and sent repeated reminders, urgently seeking disposal of these bodies, however, no action has been initiated thus far, leaving the bodies to languish, succumbing to decay.
Initially stored in freezers, the bodies have now been moved out to make way for new ones due to a shortage of capacity. While JNIMS has only two freezers, with one being non-operational, RIMS is relying on a single freezer. Each freezer can only accommodate six bodies.
“All these bodies have decomposed beyond recognition. In some of the boxes, there are only bones left,” a source at the hospital said.
“We have written to the District Collector and sent reminders saying it has become a health hazard and that we do not have the capacity to cater to such volume, but there has been no action from their side,” the source added.
After the postmortem examination is conducted, the bodies are handed over to the police. The police then ensure that they are handed over to the claimants. In this case, the bodies are lying unclaimed.
“These bodies need to be disposed of at the earliest. One must have some dignity for the dead,” the source added.
ThePrint reached Khumanthem Diana Devi, deputy commissioner, Imphal East and Th. Kirankumar deputy commissioner, Imphal West, for a response via WhatsApp messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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‘No-go zones’
According to sources in the security establishment, the division of Manipur, with Meiteis in the valley and Kukis in the hills, has resulted in unclaimed bodies in the morgues due to the inability of either community to travel to areas dominated by the other.
Since the violence began in the state, over 50,000 people in Manipur have been displaced, police data show.
While the Kukis, who were living in Imphal valley have left for the hills, the Meiteis in the hills, although a few in numbers, have come to the valley.
Shaped like a bowl, Manipur is surrounded by nine hills. While the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley occupies the central region, the southern hills are primarily inhabited by the Kuki tribes, and the northern hills are home to the Nagas.
“Imphal valley has become a no-go zone for the Kukis, so no one is travelling to the valley to claim the bodies as they fear for their own lives. Similarly, bodies of some Meiteis, that may be in Churachandpur, cannot be brought to the valley,” the source said.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kelvin Neihsial, General Secretary of All Manipur Tribal Union, said they have made multiple requests to authorities in Imphal to send the bodies of their dead to Churachandpur, but nothing has been done so far.
“If we enter Imphal, they will kill us. We do not have the guts to enter Imphal. Those Kuki bodies are in the morgue and have been lying there for over four months now. We made several requests to the authorities in Imphal, but they are in no mood to send those bodies to us. They just want them to rot there,” he said.
In August, a call was announced by a tribal body for the mass burial of 35 Kuki-Zo community members in Churachandpur.
The location where the burial was proposed to be held was in Torbung — an area at the border of the Kuki-Zomi-dominated Churachandpur district and the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district.
The burial, however, was reportedly postponed after an appeal from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which assured the Kuki community that they would address the burial matter and attempt to resolve it.
The Manipur High Court on 3 August, however, directed that the status quo be maintained at the proposed burial site.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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