Imphal: The 10 Kuki-Zo youngsters, who were killed in an alleged ‘gunfight’ with CRPF, received multiple fatal bullet injuries, fired from behind, contrary to the claims by the Manipur police.
According to the autopsy report by a set of three different doctors, the bullets hit the Kuki men all over their body parts from head to foot, and most of them were shot from behind.
The Manipur police on November 11 claimed 10 ‘suspected’ militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam district.
As per the documents, the 10 individuals, including one minor, were identified as Robert Lalnuntluong, 16, Ramneilien, 29, Fimlien Kung Ngurte, 31, Elvis Lalropei Zote, 21, Lalthanei, 22, Joseph Lalditum, 19, Francis Lalzarlien, 25, Roulneisang, 30, Lalsiemlien Hmar, 30, and Henry Lalsanglien, 25.
Variation in time of death
According to the detailed autopsy reports accessed by PTI, most of them were in camouflage and khaki dresses when they were brought for autopsy at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam.
Noticeably, while six bodies were brought to SMCH the next day on November 12, four reached the hospital on November 14 and were in the early stages of decomposition.
The approximate time of death for the bodies on which autopsy was conducted on November 12 was 24-36 hours before, while those arriving on November 14 were 72-96 hours.
Only in the case of Hmar, the approximate time since death was 48 to 72 hours before the autopsy on November 14.
Bullets sprayed, missing eyes
All bodies bore the wounds of multiple bullet entry and exit marks, even more than a dozen in some of the deceased, reported PTI. The reports also mention that one eye was missing from the bodies of Ngurte, Lalzarlien, Hmar and Lalsanglien.
The doctors kept the opinion regarding the cause of death pending till the receipt of the chemical analysis reports of viscera from the directorate of forensic sciences (DFS) in Guwahati.
Funerals delayed for autopsy reports
The funeral of the 10 killed along with two other Kuki-Zo men will be held in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on December 5.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a key organisation of the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, had earlier decided that the funeral of the Kuki-Zo youth would not be conducted till their post-mortem examination reports were handed over to the families.
After the bodies were airlifted from Silchar to Churachandpur on November 16, they have been kept in the local hospital morgue till now.
While ITLF claimed that the deceased Kuki-Zo youths were village volunteers, the Manipur government asserted that they were militants.
More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
(With inputs from PTI)
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