An irate mob on Saturday placed the dead foetus, delivered by eight-month pregnant Laishram Ningol Sanjita Devi, at the Singjamei Police Station after RIMS claimed it was delivered normally earlier in the day at 5 am.
The action of the irate mob, consisting of family members and locals, took place after the mother was hospitalized and kept in an ICU at RIMS as she was in a critical condition from tear gas suffocation during an agitation in Imphal on Thursday. While in the ICU, her unborn baby died inside her and RIMS informed that the dead foetus was delivered normally at 5 am on Saturday.
Meanwhile, hospital authorities confirmed that the mother remains in critical condition in the ICU, on ventilator support.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, the media cell of RIMS (Regional Institute of Medical Sciences) stated that a 1.5 kg dead fetus was delivered at 5 am that day and was handed over to the father after consultation with the relatives. The hospital also provided an update on the mother's health: her pulse rate was 119/min, BP was 128/75 mm Hg, SPO2 was 99 per cent, and urine output was 1.6 liters in 24 hours.
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"She is on ventilator support, but the medication to maintain her BP has been adjusted," the statement read.
The hospital appealed to the public not to spread rumors regarding the mother’s death, clarifying that although she remains in critical condition, she is still alive.
Despite the hospital's statement, agitated locals rejected the medical report and intensified their protests, leading police to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
The woman, identified as Laishram Ningol Sanjita Devi, 34, wife of Naorem Dipak from Kakwa Naorem Leikai, Imphal West, under Singjamei Police Station, was at home when security forces fired tear gas shells to control an angry mob. The mob was protesting, demanding the unified command be handed over to the Manipur government to defend against alleged narco-terrorist attacks.
After the delivery, an irate mob deposited the dead fetus at Singjamei Police Station, holding the police responsible for the incident. Tensions escalated outside the station as a crowd gathered. Relatives and protestors demanded that if the mother was still alive, the police should hand her over, along with the fetus, or they would refuse to accept the remains.
Later, the officer-in-charge of the police station, Inspector M Conqueror Singh, received the remains from the relatives and protestors for safe custody in the presence of an executive magistrate.
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Since September 1, attacks on Meitei villages have increased, with militants using drone bombs and long-range rockets in fringe areas. Ten people have been killed during the recent violence in Manipur, leading to intensified protests across the Manipur Valley, with demonstrators burning effigies of PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, security advisor to the Manipur Government, Kuldiep Singh, and retired DG of Assam Rifles, PC Nair.
The protestors have also demanded that the unified command be transferred to the Manipur Government.
The Joint Action Committee formed in connection with the incident questioned how a mother in critical condition could have delivered the fetus normally.
Later in the evening, an irate mob blocked the Indo-Myanmar highway near Singjamei Police Station, setting tires and wooden logs on fire. By 8 pm, a combined team of state and central security forces were trying to control the crowd using tear gas and mock bombs.
On Tuesday, the Manipur government imposed an indefinite curfew in the Manipur Valley districts and suspended internet services to prevent further escalation. Initially, the curfew was relaxed from 5 am to 4 pm on Saturday, but after tensions rose over the dead foetus, the curfew was shortened at 2 pm.
The District Magistrate of Imphal West issued a new order, stating that the curfew would be relaxed on Sunday from 5 am to 12 Noon. However, the relaxation would not allow any gatherings, sit-in protests, rallies, or other activities without prior approval from the competent authorities. The restriction will be exempted for essential services, petrol pumps, media, and passengers traveling to the airport.
