Amid escalating tension in Manipur’s Jiribam district, the bodies of a woman and two children were recovered and brought to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMHC) in Assam on Friday. The incident comes after six individuals — three women and three children — were reportedly taken hostage by suspected Kuki militants on Monday.
Bodies Identified Amid Signs of Decomposition
Sources at the SMHC morgue initially reported that three women’s bodies were brought in. However, further examination on Saturday revealed two of the deceased were children, while the third was a woman. The bodies, in an advanced state of decomposition, remain unidentified.
The victims are believed to be among the hostages taken from the Bokobera neighbourhood in Jiribam. Laisharam Herojit, a state government employee whose wife, two children, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law were among those abducted, has not yet seen the bodies.
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Gunfight and Hostage Abduction
The abduction reportedly occurred during a gunfight between the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and suspected Kuki militants in Jiribam’s Borobekra area. Witnesses claimed that armed individuals transported the hostages across the Barak River using a boat.
Herojit recounted receiving a distress call from his wife during the attack, stating, “She was crying on the phone, saying they were surrounded by armed men. The call disconnected, and I couldn’t reach her again.”
The CRPF camp and Borobekra police station are less than a kilometer from the Barak River, where the hostages were last seen.
CRPF Confirms Deaths of Suspected Militants
The CRPF confirmed the deaths of 10 suspected Kuki militants in the encounter, denying claims by Kuki groups that the deceased were “village volunteers.” Security forces displayed recovered weapons, including AK and INSAS assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The ongoing ethnic conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur has fueled violence in the region, with frequent clashes, abductions, and fatalities.
The situation in Jiribam remains tense as authorities work to identify the victims and investigate the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
