Imphal: After two meetings with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the family of a Meitei man abducted and killed last week by allegedly Kuki militants agreed on Sunday afternoon to perform his last rites.
“The governor has accepted 80 percent of our demands, and that is why we are here to receive the body,” said Santosh Singh, a member of the Joint Action Committee(JAC), which was formed soon after the killing of M. Rishikanta Singh.
The Meitei man had been living with his partner Chingu Hakoip, a Kuki woman, in Churachandpur for the past month. On the day of the killing, both were allegedly abducted. While his girlfriend was released shortly, Rishikanta was later found dead.
Rishikant’as family members, relatives, and neighbours—who had been protesting for the past five days—arrived at the mortuary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) Hospital in Imphal on Sunday afternoon to receive the body.
His body won’t be cremated as per Hindu rituals but buried under Meitei customs for the “martyrs”. “We bury the dead to give them the status of a martyr. He is a martyr for the Meitei community,” Singh said.
Before Meiteis formally adopted Hinduism in the 18th century, they would bury their dead. Before accepting Hinduism, Meiteis used to worship their own ancestral gods.
Also Read: ‘Won’t cremate body till justice is served’—family of Meitei man abducted, killed in Manipur
‘True love can’t be separated by violence’
A poster on the front of the truck carrying Rishikanta’s body from the mortuary for the last rites read—“Rest in peace, Mayanglambam Rishikanta Singh. You have shown that true love cannot be separated by caste, creed or the threat of violence. Truth and love always triumph. May your ultimate sacrifice awaken and unite us.”
The key demands of the grieving family and kin include transferring the case to the anti-terror federal agency National Investigation Agency (NIA), the arrest of Rishikanta’s partner, and a government job for his brother M. Prem Singh.
“The case is in the process of getting transferred to NIA, and we are told that they are questioning his partner,” said Santosh Singh.
The killing of the Meitei man triggered widespread reaction, after a video surfaced where he could be seen pleading for his life before being shot dead.
His family members said Rishikanta had been working in Nepal and returned directly to Manipur to meet her.
His killing has sent shockwaves through the Meitei community and is being seen as a fresh flashpoint in Manipur’s ongoing ethnic conflict, which erupted in 2023 and has since claimed more than 200 lives and displaced thousands.
In the aftermath of the latest killing, the Joint Action Committee was formed. It met the governor to submit a memorandum outlining its demands.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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