Severed head of Manipur attack victim recovered 5 days after Naga body’s discovery

NEW DELHI: The severed head of a Manipur man, who was killed on October 10, was recovered late on Wednesday, a senior official said.

A joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police recovered Ajinbou Ringkamai's remains, who was killed in a suspected militant attack on a Naga-inhabited village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district.

The head was found in an isolated area near the site of the attack. It was brought to the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal on Thursday morning for an autopsy, the official said.

Ringkamai's headless body was brought to JNIMS on October 11. He was killed when gunmen attacked Makui Ashang village. His head remained missing after the attack.

The recovery came after the Joint Tribes Council Manipur, a Naga organisation, issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding that the severed head be located to allow the family to perform a proper funeral.

More than 50 people have been killed in clashes between Kukis and Nagas in Manipur since February this year. The clashes have been reported in Ukhrul, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney and Tamenglong districts.