Manipur: The majority of unidentified bodies in morgues are those of “infiltrators,” the government informs the Supreme Court

The majority of the remains left unclaimed in the state during the continuing ethnic violence are of “infiltrators,” according to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is speaking on behalf of both the Union and the Manipur state government before the Supreme Court. His comments came at the conclusion of a half-day hearing on Tuesday, during which the top court criticized the Manipur government and police for taking too long to file formal complaints about the violence. The court had gathered to hear the petitions of those who had been hurt by the horrifying viral video that showed two tribal women being paraded naked by a mob.

Senior Attorney Ranjit Kumar said that a significant cause of the instability in Manipur was the inflow of illegal immigrants from Myanmar. But in the end, aren’t the victims of rape and murder our own people, right? CJI D Y Chandrachud shot back. As a result, we must make sure that justice is served. That’s it.

The SG also said to the three judges on the bench, “I didn’t want to say this, but the majority of the unclaimed dead corpses are those infiltrators who came with a specific plan and were slain. I don’t want to contaminate the situation by saying anything more.

Senior attorney Colin Gonsalves, speaking on behalf of tribal people, said that “118 tribal corpses are at the mortuary in Imphal. For months, no one can identify the corpses. They’re decaying. We are unable to visit there to locate them. No effort is being made to assist in our identification.

Identification efforts for corpses

The state was ordered by the highest court to describe its current attempts to identify the corpses. The CJI said, “These bodies cannot be kept in a morgue indefinitely.” The court also questioned the Manipur administration as to whether a nodal person had been designated to see that the corpses of those who had died in Manipur were recognized and sent to kin.

How many corpses have been identified, please? How many dead corpses are still present? What steps are being taken to locate them? When it next met on August 7, the court ordered the State administration to disclose these specifics.

Reimbursement for victims

The government was requested by the court to comment on the issue of victim compensation. To ensure that compensation is given to those who lost their homes, the CJI said, “When we assemble on Monday, please tell us also. That is also going to be one of the most important parts of the remit of the committee we are going to constitute. What is the package, how is it going to be disbursed, who will be the authorities of government which will be involved in the identification, quantification of claim, disbursement, etc.”

Even though the home minister promised Rs 10 lakh each person slain around a month ago, according to attorney Colin Gonsalves, the policy has not yet been put into effect. Senior Attorney Jaideep Gupta expressed his hope that “Myanmarese infiltrators” were not the target of the reparation attempts.

The CJI said, “You have to select the beneficiaries and they have to fulfill certain conditions, as in any plan for the payment of compensation.