Ngeneihoi, a Kuki woman, is hospitalized with severe injuries allegedly inflicted by her Meitei husband and his family. Despite police treating it as domestic violence, KWOHR condemns the brutality, and highlights a history of violence against the victim due to her ethnicity.
BY PC Bureau
Imphal East Police have arrested one Naocha Khaidem (28) in connection with the brutal assault of his wife, Ngeneihoi (25). Effectively denying any ethnic angle in the case — Naocha is Meitei and his wife Kuki — the police registered a Zero FIR at the Women Police Station, Churachandpur, following a written complaint alleging severe domestic violence committed by Khaidem and members of his family.
Ngeneihoi is currently undergoing treatment at the Churachandpur District Hospital. After the FIR was lodged, the case was transferred to the Women Police Station, Imphal East, where the investigation is ongoing.
Earlier, the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), alleged that Ngeneihoi, a native of Tanglel was subjected to horrific torture — tied to a bed with her hands and legs bound, brutally beaten, and deprived of food and water for three days.
Subsequently, under false pretenses, her husband contacted her family, claiming he was relocating her for her safety amid the ongoing ethnic unrest. Trusting his words, the family agreed. However, after being transported near a Kuki village at Ningthoukhong Gate, Ngeneihoi collapsed from extreme exhaustion and the severity of her injuries. When her family retrieved her, they found her in a severely battered state, her body covered in extensive bruises — clear evidence of prolonged abuse.
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Members of the philanthropic group Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi rushed her to the Churachandpur District Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
On 27/04/2025, a Zero FIR was registered at Women PS, CCPur on the basis of a written report regarding domestic violence case meted out to Mrs. Nengneihoi(25) yrs, who was married to Mr. Naocha Khaidem of Tangjeng, under Kumbi-PS, Bishnupur District, Manipur, by her husband and… pic.twitter.com/FLswWHvCWp
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) April 28, 2025
In a strongly worded statement, KWOHR condemned the brutality inflicted upon Ngeneihoi and criticized the alleged complicity of the Meira Paibis, a prominent Meitei women’s group traditionally known for championing women’s rights. However, the fact that a Zero FIR was filed specifically for domestic violence somewhat undercuts KWOHR’s effort to project the assault entirely through an ethnic lens in this instance.
Adding further gravity to the situation, KWOHR pointed out that this was not the first time Ngeneihoi had been targeted. In 2023, she had narrowly survived an alleged assassination attempt by members of the extremist group Arambai Tengol, who reportedly slit her throat and left her for dead on a roadside, only for her life to be saved by the timely intervention of the Manipur Police.
Rejecting claims that this latest incident is merely a case of domestic violence, KWOHR insisted that Ngeneihoi’s ordeal fits into a larger pattern of ethnic violence and systematic targeting of the Kuki community. The organization has urgently appealed to national and international human rights organizations, women’s rights groups, and civil society bodies to intervene to ensure justice for Ngeneihoi and to protect vulnerable Kuki women.
“Justice must prevail. Silence is complicity,” said Kimneih Oi Lhungdim, General Secretary of KWOHR, warning of the worsening humanitarian crisis unfolding in Manipur.
