Guwahati, June 18 -- Manipur's Meitei community set aside their differences with the Kuki group, which has divided the state, and called for unity in welcoming the bodies of two air hostesses who died in a recent Air India plane crash in Hyderabad.

However, Kuki leaders have expressed safety concerns and rejected the idea of receiving one victim's body through Imphal, the Meitei-majority capital.

Both victims, Nganthoi K Sharma, a Meitei woman, and Lamnunthiem Singson, a Kuki-Zo woman, hail from Manipur. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 23 in Hyderabad, killing several passengers, including the two women.

Nganthoi's family awaits her body's arrival in Imphal, while Singson's family is exploring alternate routes du...