The post-mortem reports of three members of a Meitei family who were allegedly abducted by suspected Kuki militants in Manipur’s Jiribam district state that they were shot multiple times before being dumped in a river, The Hindu reported on Sunday.

On November 11, three women and three children, including an infant, went missing from Jiribam after violence during which suspected Kuki militants had set some shops on fire in the Jakuradhor Karong area. Meitei groups had alleged that the six persons were abducted by armed Hmar men.

Their bodies were found floating in the Jiri and Barak rivers between November 15 and November 18.

The post-mortem reports of three-year-old Chingkheinganba Singh, his mother L Heitonbi Devi, 25, and grandmother Y Rani Devi show that each of them had been shot, according to The Indian Express.

Singh had a bullet wound on his chin and multiple lacerations, suggesting blunt object injuries, reported The Hindu.

Devi had two bullet wounds on her back, while his grandmother Y Rani Devi suffered five bullet wounds, according to the reports.

On the day when they were abducted, suspected Kuki militants also attacked a Central Reserve Police Force post in Jakuradhor, after which ten of the suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces.

However, Kuki organisations have claimed that the individuals killed in the gunfight were village volunteers. The term “village volunteers” has been used for armed civilians guarding villages since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur in May 2023.

There has been an uptick in violence in Manipur in November, with at least 22 persons having been killed since November 7. At least 258 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the clashes broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars in May 2023.

After the abduction, protests broke out in Maniour on November 16, with mobs storming and vandalising the homes of MLAs, including of chief minister’s son-in-law Rajkumar Imo Singh. Mobs also ransacked the offices of the BJP and the Congress.

The National Investigation Agency has taken over the case.

On Friday, the state Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh said the Centre has deployed 90 additional companies, or nearly 9,000 personnel, of the Central Armed Police Force in Manipur since August.

Presently, 288 Central Armed Police Force companies, which comes to around 29,000 personnel, were deployed in the conflict-ridden state, Singh said at a press conference in Imphal. Apart from this, personnel from the state police, the Army and the Assam Rifles were also present in Manipur.