One of the saddest facts was that most of the victims who had already been unlucky in life could not be given proper burial ceremonies. Amidst those sordid tales of horror and gory incidents there stood out one most gruesome massacre which makes the other bloody incidents like a ‘Humpty Dumpty’ story.
    
On 13th Sept, 1993, in one of the worst genocides in the history of modern India, 88 innocent Kukis, including one woman, of Joupi Village (Tamenglong dist) were butchered or hacked to death at a spot not far from Tamei police station by the NSCN (IM) backed Naga Limguardsmen. To say that these 88 people were killed would be an understatement. Not even a single victim was lucky enough to be shot dead; all and every one of them had their throats cut, tribal execution style. 

To add to that most despicable act of madness and primeval savagery, another 20 innocent Kukis were also exterminated in separate ‘incidents’ on that most tragically fateful day of September 13, 1993, – 13 villagers from Gelnel (Senapati district), 4 from Santing (Senapati district) and 3 from Nungthut (Tamenglong district), pushing the day’s heads’ count to 108 victims.

The horror story started there and then, the September 15 ‘deadline’ was not to be honored by the NSCN (IM) and the Naga Limguardsmen. There at Bolkot, all the men were separated from women and all their belongings and properties were ransacked, looted or destroyed. The inhuman torturing started amidst the wailing and crying. Realizing their intention, the younger brother of the deceased chief shouted, ‘Let’s all run! It’s every man for himself!’ 

However new chief of Joupi shot down that proposal, saying that if the men folk ran away then all women and infant would be butchered as a punishment and that it was the duty of the headman and village elders to die first if needed. All the villagers were marched into Tamei just before nightfall and closed the gate. The Naga militants hid the women and infants in a secluded area while all the men had their hands tied behind their backs.

According to eyewitnesses account and 5 survivors, they were marched towards the outskirts of Tamei, actually a stone’s throw away from Tamei Police station, and the hacking of necks started from the night itself. As a true Christian, the Naga militants asked them to say their last prayers. Butchering of fellow human beings is actually not a regular part of Christian tradition, less so against fellow Christians. 

Those of Kuki villagers who lagged behind were duly ‘welcomed’ on September 13 and were given the same treatment-all the men folk were beheaded. In all 87 innocent Joupi-Zanglenphai villagers were mercilessly laid low without any fault of their own. One housewife was among the victims because she stoutly refused to leave behind her husband and son- what a dedication!

As in all massacres, there were 5 known survivors. One Haosem Doungel was hacked at the back of the neck and thrown into a river; he survived. Three others managed to escape with serious injuries. One Kuki policeman posted at the Tamei police station had to be hidden by his colleagues by locking him inside a cell for his safety in case the Naga militants came in for ‘inspection’. 

Most of the 700 plus innocent Kuki villagers who perished during that ethnic cleansing were murdered in the same manner. It is most unfortunate that most of these victim’s families have never been given ex-gratia payment by the Govt. It is a shame that so far no one has ever been charged or indicted by the not-so-long arm of the law.