Manipur: 87 more corpses to be laid to rest at Churachandpur on Dec. 20

Imphal: After a mass burial programme was held on Friday in Kangpokpi district, yet another mass burial ritual ceremony is being prepared in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on December 20.

This district predominantly inhabited by the Kuki-Zo tribal is stated to be the epicenter of the ongoing communal violence.

A total of 87 bodies of Kuki-Zo tribals are currently lying at the mortuary of the Churachandpur district hospital for a mass burial ceremony at a place near the Khuga Dam close to Sehken village in Manipur's Chuachandpur district on December 20, 2023.

Churachandpur district is the epicenter of the ongoing communal violence in Manipur.

After circulating public information, the mass burial program will be carried out as per the wishes of the next of kin of the deceased, according to the Joint Philanthropic Organisation (JPO).

Officially, 106 corpses belonging to the Kuki-Zo community were arranged for the last rites of which 19 bodies were already been put to rest at the Kangpokpi district on Thursday.

Out of these, 46 bodies are already lying at Churachandpur district hospital and 41 corpses brought from different hospitals in Imphal on Thursday are being prepared for final mass burial programmes on December 20, 2023.

In the violence-wracked Manipur, around 200 persons from two communities — the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo lost their lives.

The violence erupted after a “Tribal Solidarity March” which was organised on May 3, 2023, in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.