Imphal, Feb. 24: The cremation and shradh ceremony of Yumlembam Sanamacha, who went missing six years ago after being taken away by the army, were held today. After a fruitless wait of six years, the class X student’s parents — Jugol Singh and Arubi Devi — gave up all hope that their beloved son would return someday. They cremated their son on February 17 and observed the shradh ceremony as per Vaishnavite rites and rituals on Sunday.
Since not a single part of Sanamacha’s body has been found by the bereaved family, a body was carved out of a log of wood and cremated with religious rites. The shradh ceremony was attended by scores of people and one of those present was the mother of Bijoykumar, another boy who has been missing for several years now. He was also allegedly apprehended from his home by armymen.
Members of several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) campaigning against atrocities on the civilian population by security forces, including Families of Involuntarily Disappeared Persons’ Association, Manipur, were also present during the funeral and shradh ceremony.
Sanamacha was taken away by jawans of the 17 Rashtriya Rifles on the night of February 12 in 1998 from his home in Angtha under Yairipok police station of Thoubal district. The army denied any hand in the disappearance of the boy.
The Gauhati High Court rejected the army’s claim and ruled that the boy was apprehended, tortured and then killed by armymen. The Centre complied with the court ruling, which directed that a sum of Rs 3 lakh be paid to the grieving parents as compensation for the loss of their son.
Despite the court’s ruling and payment of compensation, the parents refused to give up hope for the return of Sanamacha for the past six years. For this period, the entire family and relatives were in mourning. According to Vaishnavite beliefs, until the shradh ceremony is solemnised, the relatives are considered mangba (which can be roughly translated as “unclean”).
Babloo Loitongbam, executive director of Human Rights Alert, said, “Based on the court ruling, the parents also decided that Sanamacha’s last rites should be performed.”