Manipur: Autopsy reports reveal brutality on 3 more Jiribam victims

The autopsy reports of the remaining three victims of the Jiribam killings showed brutal injuries, multiple bullet wounds and severe trauma, officials said on Wednesday.

The post-mortem reports of two women and a child were released earlier.

Three women and three children were abducted from Borobekra area in Jiribam district of Manipur by suspected Kuki militants after a gunfight with security forces on November 28, 2024.

Their bodies were found in Jiri river in Jiribam district, and the nearby Barak river in Assam's Cachar over the next few days.

Laishram Lamnganba, a 10-month-old infant, suffered a bullet injury to the left knee joint and had both eyeballs missing, officials said, quoting the report of the post-mortem examination conducted at the Silchar Medical College Hospital in Assam's Cachar district.

The report said there were multiple lacerations including wounds over the front chest wall, blunt weapon injury over the right lower jaw to the chin and back of the head, hard blunt trauma over the right shoulder fracturing the head of the humerus and wound on the left loin.

His body was brought to Silchar Medical College and Hospital on November 17 and approximate time of death was 3 to 5 days before that, as per the report.

Lamnganba's aunt, 31-year-old Telem Thoibi, sustained three gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the abdomen. Her skull was crushed with a blunt object, causing severe fractures and loss of brain matter.

Her eyes were dislodged out of the socket and left and right forearm were severely damaged by blunt trauma, the officials said quoting the report, adding vaginal smear showed absence of spermatozoa.

Thoibi's eight-year-old daughter, Telem Thajamanbi Devi, also died from a fatal bullet wound.

Vaginal swaps were collected and showed negative for spermatozoa, the officials said.

Her body was brought to SMCH on November 17 and approximate time of death was 3 to 5 days before it.

Opinions regarding cause of death is kept pending till receipt of chemical analysis report of visceras from Directorate of Forensic Sciences in Guwahati.

The autopsy reports also included details of two elderly men killed during the attack on November 11 by suspected Kuki militants.

Their bodies were found in a charred state on November 12.

Maibam Kesho Meitei (72) suffered blunt trauma, burns, and missing body parts, while Laishram Baren Meitei (64) was found severely charred, the reports said.

The autopsy reports of the three other persons, including a child and two women, revealed multiple bullet injuries and lacerations on various parts of their bodies, officials had said on Sunday.

The report of three-year-old Chingkheinganba Singh showed that his right eye was missing and he had a bullet wound in the skull, they said.

The report also detailed the injuries sustained by his mother, L Heitonbi Devi (25), who had "three bullet wounds in the chest and one in the buttock", officials said.

The child's grandmother, Y Rani Devi (60), suffered five bullet wounds -- one in the skull, two in the chest, one in the abdomen, and one in an arm, officials said.

The six persons belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.

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.