The survivor alleged that she was forced to work from early morning until after midnight, denied food and medical care, physically assaulted and prevented from contacting her family for years.
BY PC Bureau’
May 9, 2026: Three days after police registered an FIR against an Indian Institute of Management Bangalore professor and his wife for allegedly subjecting a 23-year-old Kuki woman from Manipur to years of physical abuse, wrongful confinement, food deprivation and wage exploitation, no arrests have been made, triggering outrage among activists and members of Bengaluru’s Northeast communities.
The FIR was registered against Amar Sapra and his wife Anshu under Section 115(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to voluntarily causing hurt, and Section 127(2), which deals with wrongful confinement.
Legal activists and community leaders have criticised the police response as grossly inadequate given the gravity and duration of the alleged abuse. Under Section 115(2), voluntarily causing hurt applies when physical pain or bodily harm is intentionally inflicted upon another person, while Section 127(2) pertains to unlawful restraint and confinement.
However, rights groups argue that the allegations go far beyond simple hurt or confinement. The survivor alleged that she was forced to work from early morning until after midnight, repeatedly assaulted, denied food and medical care, prevented from leaving the campus and cut off from her family after her mobile phone was confiscated. She further claimed she was locked inside the residence and physically attacked, including being dragged by her hair.
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Activists say the allegations could warrant stronger charges related to criminal intimidation, assault against a woman, forced labour, prolonged unlawful confinement, trafficking-linked labour exploitation and provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act if tribe-based targeting is established during the investigation.
Absolutely horrifying and enraging. A 23 year-old Kuki woman from Churachandpur district, Manipur, has alleged that she was subjected to years of brutal physical and mental torture, starvation, confinement and assault while working as a nanny-cum-housekeeper at the residence of… pic.twitter.com/Gf3pPKJmIy
— 𝗞𝗶𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗽 (@haokipkim128) May 8, 2026
Community leaders have questioned why police have not invoked additional sections despite the detailed allegations in the complaint and the survivor’s statement.
The case came to light on May 4 after the Kuki woman, reportedly weakened and hungry after allegedly not being given food since the previous day, approached the residence of another professor on the IIMB campus seeking help. She was reportedly provided food, shelter and access to a phone, through which she contacted her family in Manipur.
Her family subsequently informed the Kuki Students’ Organisation Bangalore (KSOB), which intervened and assisted in filing the police complaint. Community members say the organisation also helped secure payment of pending wages and facilitated her rescue from the campus residence.
The survivor told reporters she had originally been promised a salary of ₹18,000 per month but received substantially lower payments in recent months. She alleged that arbitrary deductions were routinely made from her wages, while part of the payment was allegedly diverted to the placement agency that initially facilitated her employment.
The 23-year-old, the eldest among three siblings, is the sole earning member of her family following her father’s death last year. Supporting her widowed mother and younger siblings, she said returning to Manipur without stable employment was not an option.
“I want to stay in Bengaluru and find a decent household where I can work without fear and torture,” she reportedly said.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, no arrests had been made as of May 9. Police officials have not publicly explained the delay, leading to accusations that the case is being handled with undue leniency because the accused are associated with one of India’s premier educational institutions.
Attempts by local reporters to obtain comments from IIM Bangalore Director-in-charge U. Dinesh Kumar, Prof. Sapra and Anshu reportedly went unanswered. The institute has not issued any public statement or indicated whether any internal inquiry or disciplinary action has been initiated.
The case has generated widespread anger among members of Bengaluru’s Kuki and Northeast communities, who have intensified demands for immediate arrests and stronger charges. Activists argue that the current FIR does not adequately reflect the severity of the alleged abuse or the vulnerability of the survivor as a migrant domestic worker from the Northeast.
The incident has also reignited broader concerns about the treatment of domestic workers in urban India, particularly migrant women employed through informal placement agencies with limited oversight or legal protection. Questions are increasingly being raised about institutional accountability and whether prestigious campuses like IIM Bangalore adequately monitor the living and working conditions of domestic staff residing within their premises.
For now, the Kuki woman remains under the care and support of KSOB members while recovering from what she describes as six years of abuse and confinement. Community leaders say they will continue pressing for accountability until stronger legal action is taken against the accused.
