IMPHAL, March 16: The case of the mysterious death of Hatneikim Zou who is said to have hanged herself from a tree in the morning of March 8 has snowballed into a major issue due to the failure of the police to take up the required formalities while recovering the body.
This was claimed by the convenor of the JAC formed immediately after the recovery of the body, Th Meena Chothe.
Speaking to IFP today, Meena said 32-year-old Hatneikim Zou was married to Tungnung Joseph Zou and is from Lamlanghupi (Chothe) Village in Bishnupur Ward No 12 under Bishnnupur Police Station. They have a son and a daughter.
Her body was recovered near the base of a tree at Ngakrapat near Kwashiphai which is about 7 kms from her home, Meena said.
However, a team of the Bishnupur Police that retrieved the body from the spot did not conduct magisterial inquest in the presence of an executive magistrate, she said adding that forensic experts were also absent.
She further lamented that JAC members were not included during the conduct of post mortem of the body at the RIMS Morgue on February 26.
A post mortem was conducted again at the JNIMS mortuary on March 8, she said, and added however, the JAC is yet to receive reports of both the post mortems.
The JAC will not agree with the claim that the death is a suicide case until the reports are made available to the JAC, she added.
This has only raised suspicions against the claim that Hatneikim had hanged herself, Meena said claiming that Hatneikim must have been left in a way to look like suicide by miscreants who had raped and killed her.
She also said that the JAC in collaboration with people of the State will launch agitations to unearth the truth of the case.