Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence. Readers' discretion is adviced.
"My sister was very brave. She fought resiliently for nearly three years... untill she couldn't anymore," younger sister of Miss H (name withheld) told The Quint days after her death on 11 January 2026.
During a period of intensifying ethnic violence in Manipur in May 2023, Miss H was allegedly assaulted and gangraped for hours in Imphal. She was 18 at the time.
As the new year dawned, Miss H, who had a frail and sickly constitution since the incident, complained of headaches, nausea, and stomach aches. She told her mother that she couldn't breathe. After initially treating her at home, her family took her to a local hospital a few kilometres away.
Miss H breathed her last at Singhat Government Hospital in Churachandpur, deep in the hills of Manipur. Speaking to The Quint, her mother said:
"What happened to her in life was an inhuman injustice. She died without justice."
Miss H also died without knowing that her case had finally reached the trial stage after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet in May last year, naming two accused.
Incidentally, the two accused, as per media reports, were released on bail just a few days ago in January. Charges against the perpetrators are yet to be framed.
The Assault
On 15 May 2023, days after the Meitei-Kuki conflict began in Manipur, Miss H had gone to an ATM to withdraw cash when a group of men—that she alleged belonged to the armed Meitei nationalist group Arambai Tenggol—arrived in blue and white Boleros and forcefully picked her up.
An eyewitness, who's a resident of Kangchup village in West Imphal, claimed the men took her to a hilltop on gunpoint while subjecting her to communal abuse and torture, and gangraped her until she escaped. In the Zero FIR filed at Kangpokpi police station on 21 July 2023, a copy of which was accessed by The Quint, Miss H had also alleged that members of the Meira Paibi, an influential civil society organisation of Meitei women known for their protests against sexual violence, had also joined in the assault, and, in fact, it was they who handed the victim over to the men for further violence.
The case was transferred to Porompat station in Imphal (as the incident happened under the jurisdiction of the latter) and then handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation on 22 July 2023 due to its sensitive. It is currently being heard at a special CBI court in Guwahati.
"We have no idea about any arrests or developments in the case. We have not been informed about anything by Manipur Police or the CBI in recent months," Miss H's mother alleged to The Quint.
The distraught mother has been in communication with senior Supreme Court advocate and women's rights activist Vrinda Grover, requesting for some legal steps to be taken with regard to her daughter's case.
"In July 2024, we had shared an application on behalf of the families of two rape victims, who had no information about the progress. And that is the status even now. The application has still not been listed for hearing before the honourable Supreme Court, and we have no news about the proceedings," Grover told The Quint.
"As per the directions of the Supreme Court in this matter, as well as the law, i.e., Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the investigating and prosecuting agencies have a duty to inform the families about the progress of the investigation."Vrinda Grover
The advocate further added that the victim's death of that same sectarian violence, without having any information about her case, is a "a travesty of justice," especially as the Supreme Court had said in its order that it will be monitoring these cases.
Former Kangpokpi Police SP Manoj Prabhakar, who had been privy to the case before his transfer in October 2025, told The Quint that the police at Kangpokpi had helped Miss H and the family to lodge the Zero FIR and then record the statement for the CBI.
"Last year, we even faciliated a video call between former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Geeta Mittal and the victim, because the judge wanted to speak to the girl herself and ensure her well-being."Manoj Prabhakar
When asked about the accused in the case, the IPS officer said, "The investigation is on. But since the case is being investigated by the CBI now, it would be inappropriate to comment further".
The three-member Geeta Committee was set upon the direction of the Supreme Court in August 2023 to oversee relief, rehabilitation, and justice for victims of the ethnic violence, focusing on humanitarian aid, support for survivors (especially of sexual violence), compensation, and restoration of property. Along with former Delhi High Court Justice Geeta Mittal, the commitee consists of retired Justices Shalini Joshi and Asha Menon, and submits reports to the SC on issues like documentation, victim compensation, and camp conditions.
Its tenure has repeatedly been extended since its formation. On 19 January, an SC bench asked the committee to submit a report on its findings.
The Quint has reached out to the Director General of Police of Manipur on email and via telephone for his reaction on the same. His responses will be updated as and when he reverts.
The Quint has also reached out to the CBI's Special Crime Branch (SCB), Kolkata department, via email for clarification. The responses will be updated as and when it reverts.
Grief and Outrage in the Hills
Miss H's death has led to protests in Manipur, with widespread anger being directed at both the state and the Central governments.
Condemning the incident, Kuki-Zo civil society organisations (CSOs) highlighted the slow pace of investigation and lack of institutional care for victims like Miss H who eventually succumbed to the trauma.
In a statement, the Kuki Women's Organisation for Human Rights called the incident a "damning indictment of systemic failure, state apathy, and entrenched unity". Speaking to The Quint, a leader from the human rights group said that the "prolonged delay in investigation and prosecution led to protracted trauma for the girl and her family," adding:
"The government has failed miserably to protect its daughters or bring their oppressors to justice. In her life, she suffered intense pain, trauma, repeated medical procedures and nightmares. In death, we demand justice for her."
CSOs like the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO), Kuki Inpi, Kuki-Zo Council, and others have demanded that Miss H's death should be treated as a "consequence of the conflict-related sexual violence she faced"—and that action must be taken not just against perpetrators of the crime, but also those in authority who failed to take timely action.
"The incident lays bare the poor condition of those displaced and injured in the violence. The relief centres remain full, and thousands are still homeless and in need of both physical and psychological rehabiliation and care," SR Songreng, a KSO member from Kangpokpi, said.
The tragic incident has also reinforced the push for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo-Hmar people in Manipur. "This is systematic and systemic violence, and it further strengthens our resolve for separation from majoritarian Manipur," Songreng said.
The Indigenous Tribal Leader's Forum (ITLF), too, reiterated that under such circumstances, co-existence with the majority community Meiteis would not be possible. During a memorial gathering for Miss H at the Wall of Remembrance in Kangpokpi, the ITLF on 17 January doubled down on the political demands of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar people.
"Separation is the only solution, and the only way forward for bringing the victims of the violence any semblance of justice," ITLF leader Ginza Vualzog said.
The death has also become a flashpoint for anger against the Central government, with many voicing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long-awaited visit to Manipur and the stopover at Churachandpur "did nothing to soothe the conflict-ravaged population".
"The PM's visit was just for eyeballs since he was cornered in Parliament," opined political commentator Patricia Mukhim.
"Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is only good as a political slogan for winning elections. In Bengal, now heading to polls, he has begun his political histrionics by talking about Sandeshkhali rape. But when it comes to Manipur violence which happened on the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)'s watch, he is silent," Mukhim told The Quint.
Mukhim added that the incident is yet another example of how "women's bodies are the location of conflict as much as of cultures—and they suffer on both counts".
Kuki CSOs have documented at least 29 cases of violence against women, including sexual violence and murder, in the course of the ethnic flare.
Many of these cases were reported only after a video showing two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob surfaced in July 2023, leading to widespread outrage across the nation, and prompting the Supreme Court to intervene and seek investigation into the violence faced by women in Manipur. Six individuals have been charged under sections related to murder, rape, and violations of the SC/ST Act pertaining to the case, which is among a clutch of cases being heard in Guwahati.
The incident also comes at a time when a "popular government" has been proposed in Manipur, which has been under President's Rule since February 2025. With former Chief Minister N Biren Singh gone and the state government suspended, Kuki-Zo CSOs admit that the threat of violence has also been contained to some extent.
The poor condition of the hills and its people, however, have led many in the state, including the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs of Manipur, to consider joining the "popular government" on the condition that the Centre gives them in writing that they would be granted separate administration in the form of a Union Territory.
Neglect and Trauma
For the H family, time seems to have stopped still in the past three years. While the assault left Miss H, once a cheerful girl with big dreams, a broken version of her older self, the violence left the family displaced and in penury.
Miss H's father, who was a municipal office clerk in Imphal, was officially let go in September 2023, and has remained unemployed since. Her older brother currently works in Delhi, hardly making enough to survive in the capital, let alone help with finances at home. Her younger brother stays with the family and is unemployed, save some odd jobs. The mother offers farm labour.
Mrs H told The Quint that after the FIR in her daughter's case was first filed, they received some help from authorities. "My daughter was suffering from uterine fibrosis since the sexual violence. We reached out to the Kangpokpi Deputy Commissioner and the District Magistrate in 2023. We received some help initially, which helped her get treated in Guwahati," the mother said.
But the assistance dried up in a few months. Moreover, Miss H was never treated for the mental trauma the incident caused her.
Medical studies have repeatedly indicated that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common and severe following sexual assault, especially in conflict-driven violence, and the first three months post-assault may be a critical period for natural recovery.
For Miss H, the first three months were spent inside a relief camp when she was too "ashamed" to admit she was assaulted. It was only in July, after watching the viral video, that Miss H thought "she was not alone in her ordeal". She then informed her family about the incident, and was treated for injuries in Kohima, Nagaland.
The medical report from the hospital confirmed rape.
"She had severe trauma, and would wake up at night with nightmares. Apart from the physical pain, the incident left her broken and deeply doubtful of her self-worth. She kept saying she was worthless, and kept all her pain to herself. But she always put up a brave face in front of her younger sister," the mother had told this reporter in 2024 in Kangpokpi, in a tin and metal house they had got on rent, away from the main village.
Some time in early 2025, the family left Kangpokpi and came to stay at a relative's house in Singhat. "We have no home. I have a young daughter whose future remains in question".
This is not the first time that the H family have been displaced. In 1997, when the deadly Paite-Kuki conflict peaked, they were among the many who had to flee their village in Saikul district to stay alive. Since then, the family had been in Imphal, not knowing they will yet again be rendered homeless due to communal violence.
Returning home to Imphal remains an impossibility, and the family isn't even sure if their home remains as they had left it.
Displaced and broke, the H family has been left with no option but to yet again hope for help from the Centre.
"I hope that the government helps us with an accommodation, in the very least, as some kind of compensation for the displacement and violence we faced. So that my younger daughter does not face the same fate as her sister," the grieving mother said.