Imphal, January 29 2010: The visible symptoms are moodiness, withdrawal to oneself, complete silence, avoiding questions and even plain interaction.

These are some of the symptoms from which many orphaned children are suffering under the violence filled atmosphere of Manipur.

Apart from these visible symptoms, no one cannot measure the mental distress undergoing within their tender minds.

Sonika, a minor girl of just 13 years, is suffering from similar symptoms following the heinous rape and murder of her mother and elder sister on the same day.

Sonika is the eldest surviving children of late Angom Ongbi Chanbi of Phayeng Makha Leikai.

With her elder sister Meneka murdered most brutally together with her mother, Sonika and her two younger siblings �� Dingku (9) and Rita (6) are now left to their own fates.

The shocking murder of their mother and sister have given a devastating blow to the young lives of the three children.

With no one to look after them, a thick dark cloud has suddenly enveloped their future.

Efforts of The Sangai Express to talk with Sonika proved a difficult task as the girl is totally withdrawn, sullen and unresponsive.

After a great deal of persuasion, Sonika said in choking voice "I just don't understand how to live without my mother and sister.

I was not allowed to see their bodies which used to caress and hold me most lovingly.

We were again barred from attending the burial ceremony.

Since then, I cannot sleep and have lost all appetite".

Sonika, Dingku and Rita are now staying with their grandfather who is suffering from paralysis following a BP stroke.

Little Sonika is looking after her disabled grandfather besides doing all household chores.

According to Dr Lenin of RIMS Psychiatric Department, any individual who survives a brutal murder of his/her most beloved and near ones often suffer from such symptoms as unresponsiveness, insomnia and loss of appetite.

In more serious cases, the person may lapse into acute stress reaction condition.

In such condition, family members should not let the individual alone.

He/she should be interacted with as often as possible.

If the condition of insomnia, loss of appetite and unresponsiveness persist any longer, psychiatric experts should be consulted immediately.

Failure to make timely treatment may lead to several mental diseases like depression and even personal disorder, said Dr Lenin.

Chanbi (37) and Meneka (17) were called out from their home by two individuals in the night of January 12 on the pretext of talking with 'their elders'.

For 12 days after they were called out, the mother and the daughter could not be located.

Their lifeless bodies were discovered at Shamba paddy fields near Phayeng Chakleibi rivulet, just about 900 metres East of their home at about 9.30 am of January 23 .

Their bodies with multiple injury marks suggested they were gang raped and murdered most brutally.

The corpses had started decomposing.

While their outer clothes were all ruffled up, inner clothes were found removed and thrown a little distance away.

Chanbi's husband had died some years back due to illness.

After the death of her husband, her eldest son left home.

Since then, he has not returned home.

According to locals, Chanbi's son has joined an underground outfit.

Since then, Chanbi and little children having been struggling for life at their Phayeng Makha Leikai home which is isolated from the main settlement area of the village.

Living in the one-room dilapidated house, Chanbi struggled and eventually succeeded in building a tin-roofed wooden house in 2008.Their house has nothing worth anything except for three shaky beds, torn mosquito nets without posts and some utensils and text books all strewn around.

Though very much poor, Chanbi and Meneka were industrious and self-respecting.

They had their compound well fenced.

They cultivated and grew different seasonal vegetables in their neat kitchen garden to earn their livelihood.

Mustard, cabbage, onion, peas cultivated by the departed mother and daughter are still growing luxuriantly.

Dingku, not fully conscious of what is happening to his small family said, "my mother went for NREGS works.

She went for transplanting paddy, reaping paddy.

She cultivated my vegetables at our home".

"We had boiled mustard on the night my mother and sister went.

Before leaving they told me to get inside and said that they would be back very soon", the little kid recalled.

Dingku looked intelligent and spoke very consistently.

He said, "I don't want to study any more.

Even if I wish, there is none to pay for my education.

Our annual exam would be starting from February 3 but I've stopped going to school since my mother and the eldest sister were murdered".

Sonika, Dingku and Rita are studying at Don Bosco Phayeng in class V, III and II respectively.

Late Meneka was to appear class X exam this year.

The four siblings used to go to school on two bicycles.

Meneka rode with Dingku and Sonika with Rita.

Rita, the youngest sister said, "every evening iche-chou used to teach me lessons.

But I used to sleep together with mother.

Our iche-chou and mother have been killed by men".

According to Lamsang police, some people have been pulled up in connection with the murder of Chanbi and Meneka.

However, the motive of the murder cannot be ascertained till date.

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