Unidentifed body of woman found in nude...
Hubby stakes claim, cops not sure
Source: The Sangai Express / Singlianmang Guite

Lamka, December 20 2010: Though a husband and his children have claimed that the woman who was found brutally murdered near Yaiphakol village in Churachandpur district was Hatkholhing Guite, police have said that there is no evidence to prove that the woman was indeed Hatkholhing.

On December 13, an unidentified woman was found brutally murdered at a paddy field near Yaiphakol village.

Apart from tale tell signs of violating her modesty before being done to death, the dead woman was in nude and found concealed with straws.

There was also a ghastly wound probably made by some blunt object like boulder on her face.

As one have come to identity or claim the body for many days, it had been finalised disposed off as unclaimed body by an order of the Churachandpur district magistrate in the evening of December 18.The corpse had been burnt to dispose off.

People mourn and inset a pic of the woman claimed to be the victim

However, after the body has been disposed off, one Songzamang of Takvow village located along the periphery of Thangjing hill range, west of Churachandpur township, came up to claim that the dead woman was his missing wife.

His children also supported the claim of their father.

But the IO of the case has rejected the claim saying that no evidences have been provided to support the claim by the alleged family members nor could they give the exact description of the murdered woman.

Moreover, no missing report had been filed with the police, if at all Hatkholhing has been missing.

The IO further informed that investigation into the killing has been started.

But no suspect have been arrested.

To verify the claim of the alleged family members, an team of United NGOs Mission, Manipur and Women Action for Development went to meet Songzamang and his children.

According to Songzamang ,his wife had left Takvom village on 11 December with some vegetables to be sold at the markets and a piece of meat that was meant for her maternal parent at Misao Lhahvom village.

Songzamang along with his wife and four children had rented a house at Mualkoi village here as well, wherein their children were often lodged and their only school going child was based.

'She left Takvom village with some vegetables and the neck portion of a wild animal that I killed while hunting on 11 December,' he recounted.

The meat was meant for her maternal parents, which according to tribal customary law should be given to the maternal parent incase the father killed animal while hunting in the jungle, he said adding, 'I only thought she was still with her maternal parents at Misao Lhahvom as she seldom had chance to visit them' .

Yaiphakol, where the naked body of the deceased was discovered is located on the edge of a suspension bridge that leads to Miso Lhahvom village, across the Khuga river.

The teenage daughter of the deceased woman said, she and her siblings return to their rented house in Mualkoi on December 14, a day after the dead body was discovered, as they wanted to attend a seminar organized by the local church there.

'I thought of visiting my maternal grand-parents as my mom was not home when we reached here, but I could not spare my time,' she said.

'On Saturday evening my father arrived here, and on learning that my mom was not home he went to Misao Lhahvom to enquire about her.

There he was told that my mom did not showed up.

As it was already dark by the time he returned home, we started looking for her the next day (Sunday) only to hear from some people that the dead body of a woman was found near Yaiphakol.

Supposing that could be her, we take a look of the photo at a private studio only to notice that it was of our mom,' she told The Sangai Express said.

As the family could not officially identify the photo yesterday, the same was done today, said Songzamang.

When this correspondent visited the rented house of the family at Mualkoi, the family produces a slipper, a shawl, a pack of chilly � which the husband said was meant for their maternal parents along with the piece of meat, Nam traditional rope for carry baggage and an rotten piece of meat.

All these items, which the family have conformed was their mother's, was located on Sunday at the vicinity of the field where the dead body was discovered.

It is an irony that the police did not detect those crucial evidences all the while.

Meanwhile, a meeting held today at the CDSU office here resolved to organize an open condolence meeting on 22 December at New Bazar bus parking here besides setting a five-day deadline to the Government to book the murderers.

The CDSU, joint women organisations and joint philanthropic organizations would jointly organize the meeting, said a source.