Family members of two children killed in a bomb attack on April 7 in Trunglubi village in Manipur’s Bishnupur district received the mortal remains after 25 days on Saturday, officials said.
The two minors, a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister, were allegedly killed in a bomb attack while sleeping with their mother. Their mother was also injured in the accident. The family said they would not accept the bodies until those responsible were arrested.
The bodies were kept at the morgue of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.
A large number of people walked in procession from RIMS to Tronglaobi to pay floral tributes. The bodies were buried at Lamthabung ground at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur.
On April 25, Prime Minister Y Kemchand Singh appealed to the family to accept their bodies. “We are also holding talks with the families of the deceased and the joint action committee that was formed in relation to the incident,” he added.
In addition to the JAC, the government has also assured to provide the father, who is serving in the Border Security Force (BSF), with a posting in the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) or Manipur Rifles of equivalent rank, and the mother, who is working as a nurse in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Guwahati, an equivalent service in Manipur.
Read also: Two people killed in protests against the killing of a boy and his baby sister in Manipur
Singh also said that agencies are making efforts to find the culprits.
The government also launched a military campaign in the suspected area around Trunglubi village, Bishnupur and Churachandpur areas, and handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency.
Five suspects of the banned underground group Kuki United National Army (UKNA) have so far been arrested.
A series of torch marches have been launched by All Manipur United Clubs Organization (AMUCO) and Coordinating Committee for Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in five districts of Manipur including Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal and Kakching since April 11 to protest the bomb attack and demand justice.
Following the April 7 bomb attack, three protesters were killed during firing by the CRPF in Jhilmul village in Churachandpur, an area dominated by Kuki Zo.
The government, citing the “volatile law and order situation,” imposed a three-day suspension of internet service on April 7. While broadband services, specifically Internet leased lines and fiber-to-home connections, were conditionally restored on April 8, mobile Internet restrictions continued in phases. On April 18, the ban on Internet services was lifted.
The unrest in Manipur has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced about 60,000 people since May 2023. It first began among the Meitei and Kuki communities and has since included almost all groups.
