Five-year-old Tomthin and five-month-old Yaisana died in a projectile attack in Tronglaobi village, Bishnupur district, Manipur, on the night of April 6-7. Their bodies have lain in an Imphal morgue for two weeks as the family refuses to claim them until justice is served. Nightly protests in Imphal have reignited tensions in the state.
Five-year-old Tomthin and his five-month-old sister Yaisana were sleeping next to their mother Binita when a rocket-propelled shell exploded in their room around 1 am on April 6-7. Binita suffered splinter injuries and was hospitalised. The attack occurred at their grandparents' home in Tronglaobi Awang Leikai village, Bishnupur, a Meitei-dominated foothill area near Churachandpur hills.
The family has refused to claim the bodies until justice is delivered. Paternal grandfather Oinam Babuton, 70, said, “We were very wrong to trust the security forces.” Father Oinam Mangalsana, a BSF jawan posted in Bihar's Kishanganj, rushed home and is staying with Binita, a nurse at a Guwahati private hospital.
The Manipur government transferred the probe to the NIA. Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam stated that five suspected United Kuki National Army cadres have been arrested, and police recovered the launcher. Local elements are also under investigation.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, who assumed office on February 4, promised state government jobs in Manipur for Binita and Mangalsana. Nightly protests in Imphal are pushing the state to the brink ahead of the third anniversary of the ethnic conflict.
