Post-mortem reports from Silchar Medical College reveal close-range gunshot wounds, blunt-force trauma, and signs of torture, contradicting the official “militant” narrative in the Jiribam killings.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi | 18 November 2025: A writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution—seeking a court-monitored CBI or Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged cold-blooded killing, torture, and mutilation of ten unarmed Hmar youths by security forces in Manipur’s Jiribam district—is scheduled for hearing before the Supreme Court on November 24, 2025.
The petition has been filed by Mrs. Vanrampani (56) of Khopuibung village along with four other family members: Vanlalsung (50) of Thenmoul, Albert Amo (39) of Ngwete, Lal Ramthang (63) of Thenmoul, and Lal Huolkim (60) of Ngurte in Churachandpur district. They accuse Manipur Police commandos and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel of executing the youths inside the CRPF camp adjacent to Borobekra police station in Jiribam on November 11, 2024, followed by the brutal mutilation of the bodies.
The killings occurred amid deepening ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Just four days earlier, on November 7, 2024, armed militia from the majority Meitei community allegedly stormed Zairawn, an Hmar tribal village in Jiribam, where 30-year-old mother of three, Zosangkim, was raped, murdered, beheaded, her brain removed, and her body set ablaze. The atrocity triggered further retaliation in a conflict that has raged since May 2023
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Sequence of Events on November 11
On the morning of November 11, the ten youths—village volunteers from Churachandpur assisting thousands of internally displaced persons—went to the CRPF camp in Jiribam around 11 a.m., unarmed, seeking a discussion on village security as reports of killings and arson spread through the district.
The petition alleges that as they exited the camp, a Manipur Police commando opened fire with an assault rifle. It further claims that a CRPF soldier then fired a Light Machine Gun (LMG) from atop an armoured vehicle, causing mass casualties.
By afternoon, all ten were dead.
While the Manipur government and CRPF asserted that the victims were “Hmar militants” killed in “retaliatory action” after attacking the camp, families and eyewitnesses dispute this, insisting the youths were unarmed volunteers and were executed inside the camp.
Post-Mortem Evidence Contradicts Official Version
Post-mortem examinations at Silchar Medical College & Hospital—conducted on 12 and 14 November 2024—documented:
- Multiple close-range gunshot wounds
- Blackening and abrasion collars, indicating shots fired from less than 2 feet
- Lacerations, blunt trauma, smashed bones, and signs of torture
- Injuries inconsistent with combat, but consistent with execution
Examples include:
- Lalthanel (22): penetrating gunshot wounds with blackening, muscle-deep lacerations.
- Roulnelsang (30): 18 external wounds, bullets piercing vital organs, and a retrieved fragment.
- Joseph Lalditum (19): perforated lungs, lacerated ventricles, crushed finger bones—typical of close-quarters killing.
Families received the bodies on November 16, 2024 and reported missing eyeballs, gouged sockets, blunt-force injuries, and other torture marks.
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Video Evidence Raises Chilling Questions
A pen drive (Annexure P1) containing leaked videos allegedly shows armed personnel beating prone bodies with spades inside the camp. Petitioners argue this raises the possibility that some victims were still alive during the assaults.
Public-domain photos (Annexure P2) also show non-ballistic injuries consistent with spade-like weapons, pointing to involvement of both state and non-state actors.
Although the Union government ordered an NIA probe on November 22, 2024 in the Jiribam killings, no arrests, suspensions, or major updates have been reported in ten months. The petition claims the weapons “recovered” from the victims match those used by the CRPF and Manipur Police, raising suspicion of planted evidence.
Petitioners’ Demands
The petition seeks:
- Transfer of the probe to the CBI or a Supreme Court-monitored SIT
- Immediate arrests and suspensions of implicated personnel
- ₹1 crore compensation per family, with rehabilitation support
- Witness protection and preservation of all material evidence
- A judicial commission to examine the wider ethnic-violence context
Filed on August 9, 2025, the case—after delay condonation due to conflict-zone hurdles—has been listed for admission on November 24.
