Bodies Of Nine Victims Of Jiribam Violence Cremated Amid Tight Security

Tensions persist in Jiribam, Manipur, as nine victims of recent violence were cremated after post-mortem at Assam’s Silchar Medical College due to local facility limitations.

Guwahati:Simmering tension continues in Jiribam in Manipur even as the last rites of the nine victims of the recent violence in the Jiribam were performed at the Manipur town that borders Assam's Cachar district on Friday. The nine bodies were initially taken from Jiribam to Silchar Medical College and Hospital in the Cachar district of Assam for post-mortem as the government hospital in Jiribam does not have a post-mortem facility.

On Friday, the police said that the bodies were handed over to the next of kin of the victims and were later taken to Jiribam amid tight security arrangements where the family members and relatives performed the last rites.

The nine deceased include three women and three children, including an eight-month-old baby, who was allegedly abducted by the armed miscreants at Borobekra and Jakurdhor area in Jiribam on November 11. Their bodies were later recovered from different areas along the Assam-Manipur border.

The police had found another two bodies from Borobekra and Jakurdhor area in Jiribam the same day (on November 11) where a fierce encounter took place between the CRPF and armed miscreants.

The two bodies, which were recovered in charred condition, were believed to be of two elderly persons. Another youth was killed in police firing in Jiribam on November 13. On November 13, the police had to resort to firing at a mob, who were protesting against the killing of six women and children in Jiribam.

As the bodies arrived in Jiribam on Friday, grieving residents of the town gathered to pay their last respects offering floral tributes. The last rites were performed at Ningsingkhul Biodiversity Park in Jiribam.

E Dewan Singh, President of Jiribam's prominent social organisation--Jiri Development Organisation--while condemning the killing of innocent civilians said that the Central government should initiate stern action against the terrorists, who had been behind the brutal killing.

Meanwhile, the Assam and Manipur police have been conducting joint patrolling along the Assam-Manipur border to ensure peace on both sides of the border. The police from both the Cachar and Jiribam districts have been working in close synergy to ensure that no untoward incident could take place on either side of the border.