Three years on, justice eludes 2 Kuki-Zo women who were stripped, paraded, gang-raped in Manipur

Nearly three years after two Kuki-Zo women were stripped, paraded and gang-raped by a mob in Manipur’s Thoubal district — an attack in which the brother and father of one of the survivors were killed — three accused in the case remain absconding, two are out on bail, and the bail application of another will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court later this month.

The husband of one of the victims, an ex-Army jawan and key witness in the case, told The Hindu that a prime suspect identified as Loya, accused of killing the two men, continues to roam free. He alleged that no serious efforts are being made to arrest him. The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the Supreme Court. The Manipur Police had arrested seven people, including a juvenile, in July 2023.

Pointing to the slow pace of the trial, the witness said, “We attend the hearings through video-conferencing (trial being held in Guwahati). Justice remains elusive. Two accused are already on bail. The main accused, Loya, who killed the two men, was known to us. Despite the survivor’s statements, he has not been arrested and continues to move around freely. People known to me in the area have told me.”

The victims had fled their village in Kangpokpi district when ethnic violence between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023. According to investigators, a mob of around 1000 people attacked their village the following day.

A chargesheet filed by the CBI alleges that Loya beat the brother and father of one of the victims to death using a big wooden log and also took part in the sexual assault. The other two accused—Chinglen and Inaoton—named by the survivors for their role in the assault and parading of the women, also remain absconding.

The incident, which occurred on May 4, 2023, came to national attention only on July 19 that year after a video clip of the assault went viral, triggering widespread outrage and intervention by the Supreme Court. The case was eventually transferred to the CBI, which filed a chargesheet on October 12, 2023. The trial was shifted to Guwahati as the victims could not travel to the valley areas of Manipur for hearings.

On September 8, 2025, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to two accused—Nameirakpam Kiran Meitei and Arun Khundongbam. While acknowledging the grave allegations against the accused, the court held that continued incarceration without trial cannot be used as pre-trial punishment.

The CBI chargesheet alleged that Khundogbam was part of the mob and played an active role in the sexual assault, gang rape, naked parading of women victims, and murder of two relatives of one woman victim.

Kiran Meitei is accused of participating in the crime and circulating the assault video that later went viral online. Both have been identified by the victims during a test identification parade done virtually.

The chargesheet also stated that policemen present at the scene refused to help the women during the mob assault, allegedly saying the police vehicle had “no key” before leaving them at the mercy of the mob.

According to investigators, the victims escaped through forests over the next 48 hours before reaching safety. The FIR in the case was registered later, after the video surfaced. The CBI said the role of the police personnel is still under investigation. The agency has appealed against the bail granted to the two accused in the Supreme Court.

Another accused, Yumlembam Jiban Singh, has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the SC, challenging a Gauhati High Court order on December 16, 2025, which rejected his bail plea solely on grounds of the gravity of the alleged offences, despite acknowledging the prolonged incarceration. He is accused of recording and sharing the video of the assault and has sought parity with the two co-accused, who are already out on bail. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on March 24.

Three other accused still behind bars are Huirem Herodash Meitei, Ningombam Tomba Singh and Pukhrihongbam Suranjoy Meitei.

A February 26 order of the Supreme Court detailed the status of investigations into Manipur violence cases being monitored by Special Investigation Teams (SIT) under former Maharashtra police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was appointed by the court on August 7, 2023, to oversee the probe.

The 12th status report submitted by Mr. Padsalgikar on February 18 noted that Manipur has constituted 36 SITs across eight districts to investigate riot-related cases, while 31 serious cases were handed over to the CBI. Of these, 20 chargesheets have been filed, five cases closed with final reports, and six investigations remain pending and are expected to be completed within six months.