The reports also mentioned that one eye each was missing from the bodies of Ngurte, Lalzarlien, Hmar and Lalsanglien.
The doctors kept the opinion regarding the cause of deaths pending till the receipt of the chemical analysis reports of viscera from the Directorate of Forensic Sciences (DFS) in Guwahati.
The funeral of these 10 youths along with two other Kuki-Zo men will be held in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on December 5, a leading organisation of the community has said.
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 youths 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 2023.
Also Read: Protests sweep across Manipur demanding an end to violence
It started after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53% of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute little over 40% and reside in the hill districts.
