MY KOLKATA EDUGRAPH
ADVERTISEMENT
regular-article-logo Monday, 02 December 2024

Bullet injury and both eyeballs missing: Brutality that didn't spare Manipur infant

Thousands of demonstrators on Thursday defied a curfew and staged a rally in Imphal East district demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (Afspa) from the state and the arrest of those responsible for the killings of three women and three children in Jiribam district

PTI Imphal Published 29.11.24, 06:00 AM
Women take part in a protest rally in Imphal East on Thursday.

Women take part in a protest rally in Imphal East on Thursday. PTI

The autopsy reports of the remaining three victims of the Jiribam killings suggest brutal injuries and severe trauma, with the body of a 10-month-old infant bearing a bullet injury to the left knee joint and both eyeballs missing, officials have said.

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

ADVERTISEMENT

Three women and three children were abducted from Borobekra in Jiribam district of Manipur by suspected Kuki militants after a gunfight with security forces earlier this month. Their bodies were found in the Jiri river in Jiribam and the nearby Barak river in Assam’s Cachar.

The post-mortem report of the 10-month-old infant said there were multiple lacerations including wounds on the front chest wall, blunt weapon injury over the right lower jaw to the chin and the back of the head, hard blunt trauma over the right shoulder fracturing the head of the humerus and a wound on the left loin.

His body was brought to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Cachar on November 17 for the post-mortem and the infant’s approximate time of death was three to five days before that, according to the report.

The infant’s aunt, 31-year-old Telem Thoibi, suffered 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 plucked out of the sockets and her left and right forearms were severely damaged by blunt trauma, the officials said, quoting the report.

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

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

Afspa protest

Thousands of demonstrators on Thursday defied a curfew and staged a rally in Imphal East district demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (Afspa) from the state and the arrest of those responsible for the killings of three women and three children in Jiribam district.

The rally began at Nongada in Lamlai constituency, with the protesters raising slogans as they marched towards Yorbung, covering a distance of 4.5km.

“The rally was organised by Meira Paibis and local clubs in the Lamlai constituency. We have said time and again that the Afspa is a tool of oppression. The people of Imphal valley and the Naga areas have suffered the most under the Afspa, but the government has never acknowledged their suffering,” Y. Leima, a woman protester, said.

Schools to resume

The state government on Thursday announced that classes in schools and colleges in the Imphal valley districts and Jiribam would resume on November 28 after a 13-day hiatus.

Follow us on:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT