A correspondent
Silchar: Finally, the three-day nail-biting suspense at the Silchar Medical College Hospital campus ended on Saturday noon as the bodies of 10 alleged Kuki militants were handed over to the Manipur police, which were later airlifted to the Churachandpur district of the neighbouring state.
However, the entire process saw a high-pitched ruckus, including a brief episode of stone pelting by the Kuki people who came to receive the bodies and a mild lathi charge by the Silchar police. Meanwhile, the bodies of all six abducted persons, including two children, an eight-month-old infant, and three women, recovered in the upper stream of the Barak River on the Assam-Manipur border, were also brought to the SMCH. Three bodies were recovered on Friday night and the other three in the wee hours of Saturday. The Meitei Manipuri women and children were abducted by suspected Kuki militants on Monday after 11 militants were gunned down by the CRPF on the previous day in Jiribam.
A group of almost 200 Kuki and Hmar people gather in front of the Anatomy department of the SMCH to receive the bodies of the slain youths whom they claimed as civic volunteers. The Kukis resisted the Manipur police team, which also arrived at the SMCH to receive the bodies. This triggered tension at the SMCH campus for the last three days.
Finally, on Saturday morning, the Silchar police, which restricted itself to a silent but alert spectator, swung into action to hand over the bodies to their Manipur counterpart. The situation turned tense as the Kukis resisted the move. They reportedly started pelting stones, injuring at least four journalists. DIG Kankan Jyoti Saikia and SP Nomal Mahatta soon arrived at the spot and pacified the Kukis. Mahatta, in clear terms, said that the Assam police in no case would allow any untoward incident to happen here, and they were instructed to make preparations for handing over the dead bodies to their Manipur counterpart. Meanwhile the Kukis were assured by the Jiribam administration and police that the bodies would be flown to Churachandpur for the funeral. Finally, 10 bodies were airlifted from the Masimpur camp of the Assam Rifles.
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