With no arrests in her assault case and Meitei social media users claim disputing the cause of her death, Haokip’s story reflects how survivors of Manipur’s violence face neglect in life and scandal even after death.
BY Navin Upadhyay
January 22, 2026 — Even in death, Nengtinlhing Haokip has not been allowed dignity.
The January 10 death of the 20-year-old Kuki-Zo woman from Churachandpur district has reopened deep wounds in Manipur’s fractured society. While her family, medical history, and her First Information Report (FIR) link her passing to long-term complications arising from a brutal gang rape and assault during the ethnic violence of May 2023, a parallel narrative promoted on social media claims she died of a drug overdose—triggering outrage, grief, and renewed ethnic polarisation.
Several social media posts illustrate the tone of this “ disgusting” counter-narrative.
One user, @AtanbaMee, wrote:
“She died due to drug overdose. You must do same thing at same condolence or drama for every Drug overdose Kuki death. Did u ever helped her when she was alive? Now, doing drama to continue HATE campaign against #Meiteis with ur FALSE propaganda & misinformation. People r not fools.”
In a follow-up post, the user added:
“Yes, continue such dramas for all drug overdose Kuki death. The woman died of drug overdose. And you sick people keep doing dramas for the anti-peace efforts with staged protest and cries. #KukiLiesXposed #KukiDramasXposed”
Come up with something better related to the topic of justice for manufactured rape victim, @siamixsiami! Don’t tell me the fake rape victim wanted a sugar daddy in the ex-CM like @KimmiKhs who was thrown out by the ex-CM guards. https://t.co/lZvKgT0n41 pic.twitter.com/rakA89vRy5
— Anamika Immortal (@Lombanaidabi) January 20, 2026
Another account, @mangang_lanmee, stated:
“How does speaking truth becomes mocking? Y’all have been spreading news that she died from cardiac arrest but she died from drug overdose. Also you didn’t offer any help while she was alive but will surely exploit her death—now who is the bad person? It’s you,”
accompanied by a claim that an overdose death was being “blamed on Meiteis.”
A detailed thread by @diana_warep argued:
“Nengtinlhing’s demise has been politicised to blame the Meiteis by the Kuki CSOs and demand separate administration even more. … Why did ITLF and other Kuki CSOs fail to support this sister while she was suffering? Why are they concealing the actual cause of her death and using it for political propaganda? If they claim it was r@pe that led to her death, they should bring out the autopsy report.”
Another post from @yaiphaba07, linked to the Meetei National Organisation, read:
“#KukiGirl died of #DrugOverdose? As per #Zomi social media, Ms N Haokip had died of drug overdose & not related with ethnic unrest that engulfed #Manipur since 3rd May 2023. Nothing much to say.”
Other posts went further. @TayenjamNico wrote:
“Fake account created by miscreant Kukis to malign Meiteis and beg for more sympathy from public. We all know your drama. Unlike Kuki, Meitei won’t exploit the death of the Kuki woman who died from drug abuse. She was never r@ped; it was manufactured by your community.”
A Second Violence, A Battle Beyond the Grave
Kuki-Zo groups and rights activists have condemned the overdose claims as “heinous misinformation,” arguing that they amount to a second act of violence—an attempt to erase Haokip’s testimony, discredit documented allegations of sexual assault, and deflect accountability.
Haokip’s case illustrates how Manipur’s ethnic conflict has expanded beyond physical violence into narrative warfare, where even the dead are denied peace. As candlelight vigils continue in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and other parts of the country, her name has become a symbol of unresolved justice—of a survivor who endured brutality in life, neglect in law, and vilification after death.
For many, the question remains unchanged: not how she died, but why justice never reached her while she lived.
The grandma of Nengtinlhing Haokip, broke her silence by claiming her granddaughter died of gangr@pe by #ArambaiTenggol #ManipurRapeSurvivor dies waiting for justice@LokBhavManipur @SupriyaShrinate @nabilajamal_ @vijaita @BDUTT @DeepikaBhardwaj @sangbarooahpish @sangbarooahpish pic.twitter.com/MEaPn9qwkA
— Sumkawn (@Sumkawn) January 21, 2026
The Assault: What Her FIR Records
On May 15, 2023—twelve days after ethnic violence erupted between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities—Haokip, then 18, was abducted while attempting to withdraw money from an ATM in the New Checkon area of Imphal.
According to her FIR and her detailed statement recorded on July 21, 2023, at Kangpokpi Police Station, she was first intercepted and assaulted by a group of Meira Paibis, who allegedly handed her over to four armed men in plain clothes believed to be linked to the Meitei militia Arambai Tenggol.
She was transported to multiple secluded locations, including hilly terrain in Bishnupur district, where she was blindfolded, beaten with weapons, threatened at gunpoint, and gang-raped by multiple assailants. Her statement records that the perpetrators explicitly told her she would be allowed to live only if she submitted, threatening to shoot her if she resisted or cried out. The assault caused severe internal injuries, including uterine damage and other life-threatening trauma.
Left for dead near a hillside or creek, Haokip survived by rolling down the slope. She was rescued by a Muslim auto-rickshaw driver who concealed her under vegetables to evade detection and helped her reach safety.
Traumatised and fearful amid the chaos, she delayed filing a formal complaint until July 2023, after a video of two Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked went viral nationwide. Her zero FIR—later transferred to Porompat Police Station and then to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 22, 2023—invoked charges of gang rape, abduction, attempt to murder, and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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Haokip underwent prolonged medical treatment in Guwahati, including at Apollo Hospital. Later, she continued to suffer from recurring infections, breathing difficulties, insomnia, severe psychological distress, and chronic physical pain.
On January 10, 2026, Haokip was found unresponsive and declared dead on arrival at Singngat Community Health Centre. Her family maintains that the injuries and trauma she carried for more than two years ultimately led to her death.
More than two years later, no arrests have been made. The CBI probe has seen no charges framed, drawing sharp criticism from her family and human rights groups over impunity in conflict-related sexual violence.
What followed her death has only deepened the injustice: a survivor left without justice in life, and subjected to vilification and scandal even after death.
