“Hope the government and the authorities are glad that I have become a helpless Meetei who can’t even perform the last rites of my son with any of his remains,” said the father of late Phijam Hemanjit.
July 6, 2023 marked the disappearance of two minors, Phijam Hemanjit and Luwangbi Linthoingambi, during the midst of the ongoing crisis in Manipur.
In September 2023, disturbing photos surfaced on social media, allegedly showing the minors captured before being killed by Kuki militants.
In response to the public outcry, the state government handed the case over to the CBI and the CBI has since arrested five individuals, including two minors, and filed a chargesheet. However, there has been no follow up nor further story on the same.
The grieving father, Phijam Ibungobi, while speaking to the media at his residence in Imphal on Sunday, lamented the lack of progress in the investigation.
His anguish peaked when the CBI, despite filing a chargesheet and making arrests, failed to provide even a fragment of his son’s remains.
Furthermore, the security advisor of Manipur has failed his assurance to provide the son’s remains, which he assured during a recent meeting, he added.
Voice quivered with emotion, the father declared his resolve to perform his son’s final rites on July 24, 2024.
The ceremony is set to begin between 7 am to 8 am and my son’s body will be replaced with “pangong”, he said, seeking the permission of the people of Manipur to conduct the ritual.
The father also expressed solidarity with those who sustained injuries while demanding justice for his son and Linthoingambi, highlighting the community’s ongoing struggle for justice.
Emphasising his late son’s enduring presence in the hearts of the family members, meals have been laid out day and night at their residence since the fateful day he vanished.
Moreover, the family has not yet sought any compensation nor ex-gratia from the government.
