GUWAHATI: The bodies of 87 Kuki Zo victims of ethnic violence were laid to rest in Manipur's Churachandpur district headquarters on Wednesday, officials said.
The oldest of the victims was an 86-year-old male while the youngest was a one-month-old infant, also a male.
Earlier, 41 of the bodies lay at the morgues of two hospitals in Imphal for several months as nobody came forward to claim them amid the violence. Eventually, the bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur on December 14. The remaining 46 bodies were brought to the site of burial from the morgue of Churachandpur civil hospital.
The bodies of 23 others were also airlifted on the same day last week. The bodies of 19 Kuki-Zo tribals were taken to Kangpokpi from Imphal while the bodies of four Meiteis were transported to Imphal from Churachandpur. Later, the last rites were performed.
The shifting of the bodies followed a November 29 direction from the Supreme Court which asked the Manipur government to take steps so the last rites of the victims could be performed in a “decent and dignified” manner.
The mass burial in Churachandpur was organised at the Martyrs’ Cemetery near Sehken village where hundreds of people turned up to pay their last respects. Earlier, a condolence service and prayers were organised at a ground in Tuibuong in the district.
Two days ago, a clash had broken out between Kuki and Zomi tribals in Churachandpur, prompting the authorities to impose Section 144 of the CrPC for two months. More than 20 people were injured in the incident which occurred reportedly due to alleged disagreement over the naming of the burial site.
Earlier on December 15, nineteen violence victims were laid to rest in Kangpokpi district.
Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley.
Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little more than 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.