Guwahati, Aug 8: The families of three Hmar youths, who have been kept at a morgue of Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), will be taken to Manipur for last rites as the Gauhati High Court granted permission to the family members of three victims to take the bodies from Silchar morgue.

During the hearing of the case, the family members of the victims stated in the High Court that they had no objection to taking custody of the bodies and performing their last rights as they felt there was no need for a separate postmortem of three bodies.

A division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Soumitra Saikia said: “The petitioners and any other family members of the three deceased persons, whose bodies are lying in the morgue of SMCH, Silchar, shall be at liberty to satisfy the chief superintendent-cum-principal, SMCH, Silchar as to their identities and after that, take the bodies into their custody for performing their last rights,” the court said in the order.

A relative of a victim’s family informed The Meghalayan Express that they will take the bodies to Manipur within a day or two. “The date will be fixed after consultation,” he said.

“The written prayer for taking custody of the bodies shall be presented before the chief superintendent-cum-principal, SMCH, Silchar,” the court said.
The court said if the family members of the deceased desired to take away the bodies outside the state by road, they would inform the Cachar SP who do the needful to enable the family members of the deceased to take away the bodies. Their logistic support shall be provided upto the nearest airport or to the closest border of the state,” the court further said.

“This court is of the considered opinion that the presence of chief secretary is no longer required in connection with this writ petition. The court is inclined to strike out the name of the chief secretary from the array of respondents,” it added.

The court also granted two weeks to the state government to submit a short affidavit given the situation where the bodies of the three persons were lying in the morgue of SMCH, Silchar.

The court will hear the case on September 10.

Earlier on July 24, the court ordered that the bodies be allowed to be kept in the morgue of SMCH till the next hearing. The families told the court that the police asked them to take the bodies by July 25.

The court issued the order after family members of the victims filed a writ petition alleging that it was a case of “extrajudicial execution.” The petition was filed by Siemthang Hmar, son of L. Remsang Hmar, Lalthavel Hmar, son of Khuonga Hmar and Lalchunghnung, son of Tlangminhthang. The three families had on July 19 lodged an FIR in Lakhipur police station in Cachar district seeking an investigation into the incident.

The petitioners told the High Court that the three were arrested at around 4.30 pm on July 16 from Ganganagar Part-VI area under Lakhipur police station in Cachar district by six police personnel but they were taken out in the early hours of July 17 and were killed in an extra-judicial execution. Two deceased hailed from the Cachar district and one was from the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district in conflict-hit Manipur.

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