Detailed Analysis of Autopsy Reports: 10 Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers Killed in CRPF Firing in Manipur
Seven May Have Been Shot at Close Range; Six Sustained Non-Gunshot Injuries
By Vishal Arora
Commentary
December 6, 2024
The bodies of the 10 ‘village volunteers’ were laid to rest in a funeral held in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Dec. 5. Photo: ITLF
A thorough analysis of the autopsy reports for the 10 Kuki-Zo “village volunteers” killed in Manipur during an alleged gunbattle with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) suggests that the young men were shot from behind or from multiple directions and at close range. Some of them also sustained injuries that cannot solely be attributed to gunfire.
Let’s first establish the context.
The shooting incident occurred on Nov. 11, 2024, amid an ongoing ethnic violence involving the Kuki-Zo tribes and the majority Meitei community in Manipur, over land right and identity. The violence started on May 3, 2023, and has resulted in over 250 deaths. Hundreds of villages and thousands of homes have been burned, leaving tens of thousands displaced.
Four days before the incident, a 31-year-old Kuki-Zo woman and mother of three, Zosangkim Hmar, was allegedly assaulted, raped, tortured and burned to death by an armed Meitei group without any clear provocation. Further, five Kuki-Zo churches, 14 homes and a petrol pump were set ablaze. At least six innocent Meitei civilians – women and children – were also tragically killed, and a Kuki-Zo man was found dead, among other violent incidents.
The Hmar Students’ Association stated that in the midst of these tensions, the young men had approached a CRPF checkpoint in a friendly and cordial manner on Nov. 11, informing the personnel that they were in pursuit of Zosangkim’s killers, who had been targeting multiple villages in the Kuki-Zo community.
According to media reports, the CRPF claims that the 10 individuals were “militants” who attacked a local police station and a nearby CRPF camp in an effort to divert security forces from a planned simultaneous attack on a relief camp for displaced Meitei people in the area in Jiribam district on Nov. 11. They reportedly died from retaliatory fire. As the CRPF camp came under attack, personnel in a nearby bulletproof multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) responded by opening fire with a light machine gun mounted on the vehicle. The 10 individuals allegedly did not notice the MPV.
Who Were These 10 Young Men?
The “village volunteers” are members of a civilian guard formed to protect Kuki-Zo areas shortly after violence erupted 18 months ago. They were organised in response to frequent attacks by Meitei groups, allegedly supported by members of the Manipur police, which continue to this day.
The 10 young men were ordinary residents of Manipur, predominantly from the Kuki-Zo district of Churachandpur, according to the Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (ITAC), which told Newsreel Asia they were on duty in the ethnically diverse district of Jiribam, where the Kuki-Zo community is more vulnerable compared to other Kuki-Zo areas.
The youngest of the 10 village volunteers, 16-year-old Robert Lalnuntluong, had completed his education up to Class 10 and was still considering his future options. Nineteen-year-old Joseph Lalditum was a daily-wage earner performing various odd jobs as he awaited his Class 10 exams from Open School. Twenty-one-year-old Elvis Lalropei Zote, a matriculate, earned his living as a construction worker.
Twenty-two-year-old Lalthanei, having completed his education up to Class 10, often assisted his cousin with tasks like painting and construction. Twenty-five-year-old Francis Lalzarlien, who completed his studies up to Class 9, worked as a farmer. Henry Lalsanglien, also 25, worked as a daily-wage worker while having studied up to Class 7. Twenty-nine-year-old Ramneilien, a devoted father of three and a divorcee, was a farmer.
Among the slightly older one, 30-year-old Roulneisang was a daily-wage worker, and also cultivated ginger. Lalsiemlien Hmar, also 30, was a creative spirit, owning and operating his own graphic design business at CISCOM DIGITAL. Finaly, 31-year-old Fimlienkung Ngurte was a daily-wage earner and a father of two children.
Details about the Nov. 11 incident are limited and not definitive as no statement has been issued by the paramilitary force, the Manipur government, or the central government. We reviewed the autopsy reports to ascertain the nature of the firing they faced and the injuries they sustained, comparing them with the CRPF’s version in the media. We included observations from a forensic expert who chose to remain anonymous, stating that any forensic specialist would offer similar assessments.
We first examined the nature of the firing as suggested by the autopsy reports.
Direction of Firing
Identifying whether a person was shot from behind can typically be determined by examining the bullet’s entry wound, which is generally smaller, features inverted edges and presents cleaner, more uniform margins compared to exit wounds.
According to the autopsy reports, two of the 10 victims – Fimlien and Ramneilien – were shot straight from behind. Six others – Robert, Joseph, Francis, Henry, Lalthanei and Roulneisang – were shot from multiple directions. Lalsiemlien was shot on the right side of his body, and Elvis was shot on the left side of his body.
This raises significant doubts about the bullets originating from a single fixed point, the MPV.
Close-Range
The proximity of the shooter can often be inferred from any blackening around the entry wound. When a gun is fired, not only the bullet but also soot, gunpowder residue and other combustion byproducts are expelled from the barrel of the gun. If the gun is fired close to the target, these residues can deposit around the entrance wound, creating a blackened or smudged appearance.
Seven of the 10 victims had blackened entry wounds – Joseph, Elvis, Lalthanei, Francis, Ramneilien, Roulneisang and Lalsiemlien.
Francis had as many as 11 blackened entry wounds.
The presence of blackened entry wounds on the victims, all of whom were wearing t-shirts or shirts, could strongly suggest that they were shot from close range.
What’s difficult to understand is that although the post-mortem reports clearly state the victims were found with their clothes on, they fail to mention any bullet holes in the clothing, despite noting the presence of blood stains.
In any case, close-range shooting often implies a controlled action, where the shooter has direct and close access to the victims. If the bullets originated from the MPV, the close range in the context of a light machine gun used would be within 30 metres—close enough that the village volunteers would certainly have noticed it.
The Trajectory of the Bullet
The trajectory of the bullet involves its movement through the body from the point of entry to the point of exit.
If a bullet moves from a lower point to a higher point relative to the position it entered, it could suggest that the shooter was positioned lower than the victim or that the gun was angled upward at the time of firing, or that the shooter deliberately aimed the weapon in an upward direction to aim at vital body areas that are more accessible from a lower angle, such as the chest or abdomen when aiming from below.
According to the autopsy reports, five of the victims—Robert, Joseph, Henry, Roulneisang and Fimlienkung—sustained penetrative injuries with the bullet traveling upward.
If the bullets originated from the MPV, which typically stands 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) tall from the ground to the roof of the vehicle—excluding any light machine gun setup—an upward trajectory of the bullets seems unlikely.
What further complicates the incident is the discovery in the autopsy reports of several wounds in addition to bullet-related injuries, pointing also to physical assault.
Additional Injuries
To determine whether physical assault was also involved, it is necessary to examine the presence of any additional injuries or wounds that do not conform to the typical patterns of gunshot wounds. It could be a lacerated wound, an abrasion, a pressure abrasion, a diffuse contusion, or a crush injury.
According to the autopsy reports, six of the victims had additional injuries – Joseph, Elvis, Henry, Ramneilien, Lalsiemlien and Fimlienkung.
Lacerated Wound
A lacerated wound – as opposed to “penetrating” wound in case of a bullet or knife injury – is a type of injury where the skin and the tissue beneath it are torn or ripped due to blunt trauma. They occur when the skin is stretched beyond its capacity to remain intact, often as a result of an impact with or by a blunt object.
However, if a lacerated wound is at the exit wound from a bullet, it is part of the bullet injury. When a bullet exits the body, it can cause a lacerated wound, which is typically more extensive and irregular compared to the entry wound. Therefore, we only counted stand-alone lacerated wounds.
The autopsy reports show that five of the victims had such lacerated wounds, caused by blunt objects – Joseph, Elvis, Henry, Ramneilien and Fimlienkung.
Henry had five lacerated wounds, Joseph had three, Fimlienkung and Elvis two each, and Ramneilien one.
Abrasion
An abrasion is an injury to the skin caused by scraping or rubbing against a rough surface. This type of wound involves the removal of the outer layer of the skin, called the epidermis, and sometimes part of the underlying layer, the dermis.
Elvis, as per his autopsy report, sustained a grazed abrasion measuring 30cm by 21cm – an A4 sheet of paper is about 29.7cm by 21cm. Such an injury often results from dragging a person across a coarse surface like a road, as seen in road accidents where the victim is pulled along for some distance.
Pressure Abrasion
A pressure abrasion is a type of injury where the skin has been worn away due to intense and sustained pressure combined with some movement, typically over a rough surface. Pressure abrasions are often seen in circumstances where a body part is trapped against a hard surface while pressure is continually applied. This could happen, for instance, during a physical restraint, where one’s skin is being pressed hard against a surface, or in a scenario where an individual is immobilised under a heavy object.
According to his autopsy report, Lalsiemlien sustained five pressure abrasions at various sensitive points on his body, including the face, head, arms and chest, resulting in a fractured sternum (the breastbone) underneath—a possible indicator of assault.
The bodies of the ‘village volunteers’ being laid to rest in a funeral in Churachandpur district. Photo: ITLF
Diffuse Contusion
A diffuse contusion refers to a type of bruising that covers a broad area and involves damage to the underlying muscle and connective tissues beneath the skin. Unlike more localised bruises, which are typically concentrated in a specific spot, diffuse contusions spread over a larger region and may be more widespread and variable in intensity.
The autopsy report for Elvis says a diffuse contusion was found over the neck tissues extending up to the prevertebral tissue (the area in front of the vertebral column/spine). This suggests that the injury covers both superficial and deeper layers near the spine at the back of the neck. Such extensive bruising typically results from blunt force trauma or strong pressure applied to the neck area. It could be an attempt at strangulation.
Crush Injury
A crush injury occurs when a part of the body is subjected to significant force or pressure, usually when it is squeezed between two heavy objects. Such an injury can cause damage to muscles, bones, soft tissues, and even internal organs depending on the severity and location of the crush.
Joseph’s autopsy report shows a crush injury to his thumb and fingers, accompanied by deep muscle damage and lacerations to his index, middle, and ring fingers on his right hand, suggesting that significant force was involved.
Eye Missing
Furthermore, one eye was missing from the bodies of four of the deceased – Lalsiemlien, Henry, Francis and Fimlien. This suggests that their eyes were gouged out after their deaths. Such desecration of the bodies indicates an act of hatred and raises serious questions about whether the bodies were in the custody of CRPF personnel at the time.
The analysis indicated that the CRPF’s version, which we know thus far only through media reports, is not consistent with the autopsy reports.
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[Newsreel Asia published a video story, “RELUCTANT WARRIORS | Why Manipur's Youth is Picking up Arms,” on village volunteers in May 2024. You can watch it here.]
