CSCHR concerns over discovery of skeletal remains
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, January 10 2015 :
Expressing deep concern over the discovery of human skulls and skeletal remains along with other human artifacts from the compound of the former Tombisana High School in the heart of the city on December 25 last, the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN (CSCHR) pointed out that the Manipur University's Anthropology Department preliminary estimation of the skeletal remains to be of between 17-40 years coincided with the high period of enforced disappearance in the State from 1980s till 2000s .
In a statement, the CSCHR said that the matter has raised suspicion especially amongst the families of those involuntarily disappeared in the hands of Indian Army paramilitary units as the discovered skeletal remains were those of their loved ones whose dead bodies were never recovered.
The statement further said that at least 21 cases of enforced disappearances (1980-2011) were recorded by human rights defender organizations in which the main perpetrators were the Central Reserved Police Force; Assam Rifles; J&K Light Infantry; Madras Regiment; Sikh Regiment etc while asserting that there are reasonable grounds to say that there could be many more.
Maintaining that the digging at the compound of the school still continued despite of a memorandum submitted by Families of the Involuntarily Dissapeared's Association, Manipur (FIDAM) to the Chief Minister, the statement pointed out that a PIL filed by the association and Human Rights Alert at the High Court of Manipur in connection with the incident was also withdrawn under pressure from the Chief Justice of the High Court.