Air India crash: Body of Kuki AI-171 crew member to be handed over via Nagaland

The body of Lamnunthiem Singson, a 25-year-old Air India cabin crew member who died in the recent accident, will be handed over to her family on Thursday after being identified through DNA profiling, according to people familiar with the matter.
Singson’s remains will be transported to Manipur’s Kangpokpi district via Dimapur airport in Nagaland at around 1:30 pm, members of the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Kangpokpi unit, said on Wednesday.
“For safety reasons, the family requested that the body not be received in Imphal and transported through Meitei-majority areas to Kangpokpi,” said K Shongreng, general secretary of KSO’s Kangpokpi unit. “Instead, it will be received at Dimapur airport and brought by road to Kangpokpi. Relatives and KSO members will leave for Dimapur early in the morning to receive the mortal remains.”
Officials had earlier offered to provide a security escort from Imphal Valley to Kangpokpi if the family preferred to receive the body in Imphal. Police and government authorities met with the family on Monday and Tuesday to assure them of this option.
Singson’s family previously lived in New Lambulane in Imphal but relocated to Kangpokpi following ethnic violence that broke out in May 2023. In the ongoing conflict, many Kuki-Zo residents fled to the hills, while Meitei families left the hill districts for the valley. These areas are now controlled by local militias, with central security forces stationed only as buffers.
Meanwhile, the family of another cabin crew member from Manipur, Nganthoi K Sharma, is still waiting for confirmation through DNA testing. “We request the authorities to speed up the process. Our family is waiting,” said her sister, Geetanjali. Nganthoi was a Meitei, while Singson belonged to the Kuki-Zo community.
As of Wednesday evening, the bodies of at least 170 victims had been handed over to their families, according to Dr. Rakesh Joshi, superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He said authorities have contacted the relatives of 202 victims so far.