A 20-year-old woman from the Kuki-Zo community, who was the victim of mob-fueled sexual violence during the May 2023 ethnic rioting in Manipur, has died while awaiting justice. The woman, 18 at the time of her abduction, suffered lasting physical and psychological injuries.
Manipur Gang Rape Survivor Dies
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum reported the woman’s death on Jan. 10. She had been abducted and allegedly handed over to members of an armed group during the unrest.
The First Information Report (FIR), filed two-and-a-half years ago, remains pending at Porompat police station in Imphal East. Authorities have not yet identified any of the alleged attackers.
Kuki-Zo organizations, including the Committee on Tribal Unity, held a candlelight vigil Saturday, calling for accountability for the trauma the woman endured during the 30 months following the assault. She initially reported the alleged crime to Kangpokpi police on July 21, 2023, two months after the incident.
According to the FIR, the woman was abducted on May 15, 2023, near an ATM booth in Imphal’s New Checkon. The report states that women involved in the ethnic clashes allegedly allowed four armed men from a valley-based outfit to take her to a hilltop, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted before being abandoned in a creek.
She was found by an autorickshaw driver and subsequently sought treatment at hospitals in Kangpokpi, Kohima (Nagaland), and Guwahati (Assam). Despite medical care, she continued to suffer from uterine complications and deep psychological trauma, according to the ITLF.
The organization described her death as “emblematic” of the atrocities faced by the community during the ethnic violence. The Committee on Tribal Unity has urged the Union government to ensure justice is served, stating that punishing the perpetrators would “uphold the spirit of the PM’s Beti Bachao vision.”
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