Naga group blocks autopsies: 48-hour ultimatum to government to recover severed head

A leading Naga civil society organisation in Manipur has set a 48-hour deadline for the Centre and the state government to recover the severed head of a community member killed by suspected militants in Kangpokpi district on October 10, blocking the post-mortem of two deceased men until it is returned to the family.

The Working Committee of the Joint Tribes Council-Manipur (WC-JTCM), in a statement issued on Sunday, said: “In an act of unimaginable depravity that defies the very fabric of modern civilization, the decapitated head of Ajinbou R. remains missing, held captive by the perpetrators. Consequently, we declare that the post-mortem examination for Dibambou Ringkangmai and Ajinbou R. will NOT be conducted until the missing head is recovered and returned to the family for a dignified burial.’’

It added: “We will not allow the state machinery to mutilate the remains further while the head is treated as a trophy by terrorists.”

The bodies of 52-year-old Ajinbou Ringkangmai, who was beheaded, and Dibambou Ringkangmai reached the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal around midnight on Sunday.

The organisation held the Centre and state government “directly responsible” for the missing head, alleging that the suspected perpetrators operated with impunity under the protective umbrella of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement signed by the Centre. Altogether 25 Kuki-Zo militant groups are under the pact, signed in 2008.

Ajinbou was among nine civilians killed on Saturday in separate incidents across Kangpokpi, Kamjong and Ukhrul districts amid growing hostilities between Nagas and Kuki-Zos since May.

Two Kuki-Zo civilians and two Nagas were killed in Kamjong and four Nagas in Kangpokpi, and a Nepali farmer was murdered in Ukhrul. While Ukhrul and Kamjong are Naga-majority districts, Kangpokpi is Kuki-Zo majority.

The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, on Sunday night condemned the beheading of Ajinbou.

Expressing shock at the security lapses and the state government’s failure to protect Naga villages, the UNC demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of those involved in the beheading and the other killings. It also sought immediate intervention by the Centre to stop external incursions into Naga villages and deploy adequate security forces along sensitive peripheries.

Former chief minister N. Biren Singh, after visiting JNIMS on Monday, said on X that he had met the families of Ajinbou and Dibambou.

Calling the killing and the circumstances in which Ajinbou’s body was found “deeply disturbing”, Biren said there could be no justification for such barbarity and expressed condolences to both the bereaved families.