The funeral of 12 Kuki-Zo men, including the 10 killed in a gunfight with CRPF in Jiribam, will be held in Manipur’s Churachandpur district on December 5.

 The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) held an emergency meeting on Saturday, following which the announcement was made.

Earlier, ITLF had decided that the funeral of the Kuki-Zo youths would not be conducted till their post-mortem reports were handed to the families.

“The post-mortem reports were examined together by a forensic and legal expert. According to the experts, the postmortem reports are satisfactory,” the ITLF said in a public notice.

 The organisation, however, said it would continue to pursue the legal cases related to the deceased people.

 “Our 12 martyrs will be laid to rest with the greatest of honour and respect on December 5, 2024. The programme for condolences will take place at Peace Ground in Tuibuong,” it said.

 According to the schedule shared with the press, the funeral will be attended by Ginzalala, who is the Adviser (Technical) to Mizoram CM Lalduhoma, and also a ZPM MLA.

 The ITLF also decided that a massive silent rally would be organised on the day of the burial.

 Post-mortem examinations of the 10 Kuki-Zo men, whom the ITLF claimed as village volunteers against the Manipur government’s assertion that they were militants, were conducted at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam.

 The autopsy of one of the other two youths was conducted in Aizawl, while the remaining one was done at SMCH, Tombing said.

Announcing that there will be a total shutdown on December 5 as a mark of respect for the deceased youths, ITLF asked student groups to arrange placards and banners for the rally.

 After the bodies reached Churachandpur, they were kept at the morgue of a local hospital.