IMPHAL: A 20-year-old woman from the Kuki-Zo community, who survived mob-fuelled sexual violence during the May 2023 ethnic riots in Manipur, has died while waiting for justice. At 18, she was allegedly abducted, “handed over” to members of an armed group, gang-raped, and dumped in a creek. The FIR, filed 2.5 years ago at Porompat police station in Imphal East, remains pending, and none of her alleged attackers have been identified. The physical and psychological trauma she endured never healed, culminating in her death on January 10, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said.The woman had fled the Imphal Valley amid escalating unrest. According to the FIR, she was abducted on May 15 from near an ATM booth in Imphal’s New Checkon. Some women involved in the ethnic clashes reportedly allowed four armed men from a valley-based outfit to take her to a hilltop, where three of them allegedly took turns sexually assaulting her before dumping her in a creek.She survived after being discovered by an autorickshaw driver ferrying vegetables. The following day, she fled Imphal and sought medical treatment at a Kangpokpi hospital, before being referred to hospitals in Kohima, Nagaland, and Guwahati, Assam.Despite months of treatment, the woman continued to suffer from uterine complications and severe psychological trauma, ITLF said. The organisation described her death as “emblematic” of the atrocities faced by women and the Kuki-Zo community during the ethnic violence.The Committee on Tribal Unity urged the Union government to ensure justice for the young woman, stating that holding the perpetrators accountable would “uphold the spirit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Beti Bachao vision.”(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
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