The families of those who went missing in the Manipur violence of May 3, 2023 had been unable to access compensation available to relatives of those declared dead because the law generally requires seven years to presume a missing person dead.
BY PC Bureau
October 2: Three years after they disappeared during the ethnic violence in Manipur, the families of 49 people who remain untraced will receive ₹10 lakh each under a special assistance package approved by the state Cabinet.
The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, approved the one-time payment on Thursday as a humanitarian measure for the families of those who have remained missing since the violence erupted on May 3, 2023.
Government spokesperson and MLA Sapam Ranjan Singh said the proposal, moved by the Home Department, covers the next of kin of the 49 people who remain untraced despite searches and other efforts by the authorities.
Under the law, a person who goes missing cannot generally be presumed dead until seven years have passed. In the absence of a death certificate or postmortem report, the families of those still classified as missing have therefore been unable to access compensation available to the relatives of people officially declared dead.
The Cabinet decided that the prolonged uncertainty and financial hardship faced by these families warranted special assistance, and approved ₹10 lakh for each case.
The Cabinet also revised the ex-gratia payments for Army and Central Armed Police Forces personnel killed or injured while conducting operations against extremists in Manipur, bringing them in line with the compensation available to state police personnel.
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The existing rates, fixed in 2006 at ₹2 lakh for death and ₹10,000 for injury, have been substantially increased. The revised package provides ₹10 lakh in cases of death, ₹2 lakh for permanent disability, ₹1 lakh for grievous injury and ₹20,000 for simple injury.
In another decision, the Cabinet increased the monthly pension for retired journalists from ₹8,000 to ₹10,000. The family pension has been raised from ₹5,000 to ₹7,000.
The Cabinet also approved the constitution of the Fifth Manipur State Finance Commission for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31.
