Kuki groups demand justice for woman who died 2 years after being gang-raped in Manipur violence

Various organisations demanded justice for a Kuki woman from Manipur who died recently from illness allegedly linked to the trauma she suffered after being gang-raped during the early phase of the ethnic violence in the State in 2023.

The Kuki organisations based in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Delhi claimed that she was kidnapped in Imphal and gang-raped in May 2023. She, however, escaped from the kidnappers, but never fully recovered from the shock and injuries and died on January 10 while undergoing treatment in Guwahati.

The groups also demanded a separate administration for the Kukis, claiming that it was not possible for them to live together with the Meitei community.

At least 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and hills-based Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur since May 2023. The State has been under President’s Rule since February last year.

In a statement, the Kuki group Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said, “Her death is yet another painful testimony to the ruthless manner in which the Kuki-Zo people have been targeted.” The Kuki-Zo people now have no other option but to demand a separate administration “for our safety, dignity, and survival”, said the ITLF, which organised a candlelight procession in her honour on Saturday evening at Churachandpur.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Delhi & NCR, alleged that despite the seriousness of the crime and repeated appeals by civil society organisations, no meaningful action was taken against the perpetrators.

“We categorically assert that her death must be officially recognised as resulting from the violence committed against her in 2023. Any attempt to treat it otherwise would amount to a denial of justice and an erasure of responsibility,” the KSO Delhi & NCR said.

The organisation called upon the Centre to expedite the process of creating a separate administration for the tribals, which is “both necessary and unavoidable”.

A woman’s group of the Kuki tribe said that the victim would be remembered not only for the injustice she suffered but also for her resilience and courage in the face of unimaginable brutality.

“For nearly three years, she carried pain that no human being should ever have to bear,” the Kuki-Zo Women’s Forum, Delhi & NCR, said in a statement.