BY PC Bureau
January 22, 2026: A wave of grief, anger, and moral outrage swept through the Kuki-Zo community on Wednesday, stretching from the hill districts of Manipur to the national capital, as women-led protests and press conferences renewed demands for justice for victims of sexual violence during the state’s ethnic conflict.
In Manipur, Kuki-Zo women organised large sit-in protests in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts. Simultaneously, in New Delhi, the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Delhi & NCR, held a press conference at the Constitution Club, seeking accountability for conflict-related sexual violence and the systemic denial of justice.
At the press meet, Cella Haokip, the cousin of Ms. Nengtinlhing Haokip—a 20-year-old Kuki-Zo woman who survived abduction and gang rape in May 2023 but died on January 10, 2026—recounted the prolonged trauma endured by the survivor.
“She would wake up screaming at night, crying for help,” Haokip said, breaking down. “When the state failed her, she turned to her parents, pleading for justice.”
She described how Nengtinlhing would tremble in fear whenever she saw a white Bolero vehicle pass by, reliving the horror of her abduction. According to her statement, the survivor was abducted from Imphal, taken to Bishnupur in a white Bolero, gang-raped, brutally assaulted, and left to die.
The unending circles of nightmares, the trauma, the memory of the suffering killed her every day, bit by bit,” she said.
Background of the Case
The KSO Delhi & NCR stated that the young woman was abducted from an ATM booth in New Checkon, Imphal, in May 2023 and subjected to brutal sexual and physical violence by armed assailants. She sustained irreversible injuries, including severe uterine damage, chronic infections, and deep psychological trauma.
Despite the registration of a Zero FIR and the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the organisation said no effective investigation was carried out, no perpetrators were arrested, and no officials were held accountable. She succumbed to complications from her injuries nearly three years later, while undergoing treatment in Guwahati.
“This is a direct consequence of conflict-related sexual violence and institutional neglect,” KSO said, calling it a violation of constitutional guarantees of equality and justice.
Addressing the press conference, women leaders including Ms. N. Guite, Prof. Grace Guite Valte, Ms. Mary Zoe Grace, Ms. Gladys Vaiphei Hunjan, and Ms. Mercy Kipgen stated that repeated appeals by civil society organisations had failed to move the authorities.
They demanded that the survivor’s death be officially recognised as resulting from conflict-related sexual violence and warned that any attempt to label it as an unrelated medical issue amounted to denial of justice and erasure of responsibility.
The other demands included:
A) A time-bound, independent, and impartial investigation 3. Immediate arrest and prosecution of all perpetrators
B) Accountability of officials who failed to act despite knowledge of the crime
c). Justice, protection, rehabilitation, and comprehensive support for all Kuki survivors of sexual violence
The KSO leaders also said that in the face of ongoing violence, firmly established systemic injustice, and persistent state failures, they reaffirm that the Kuki-Zo people’s demand for a separate administration (a Union Territory with Legislature) is essential and inevitable. “This step is crucial to guarantee lasting peace, security, justice, and the fundamental right to live in dignity.”
Sit-in Protest in Kangpokpi
In Kangpokpi town, hundreds of Kuki-Zo women from the Sadar Hills staged a silent sit-in protest, holding placards reading “No Arrests, No Justice,” “Government Inaction Enables Impunity,” and “Indian Women, Stand With Us.”
Kuki Women Union, Sadar Hills President Nengboi Hmar, addressing the gathering, spoke with visible anguish about the targeting of Kuki-Zo women during the conflict.
READ: Manipur: COTU Accuses Authorities of Abandoning Victimised Kuki-Zo Women
TENGNOUPAL DISTRICT HQ 📍
22/01/2026Sit-in protest against the sexual violence and brutal killing of Kuki-Zo women in the Manipur crisis.@thewire_in@ANI#ManipurViolence#Justice4KukiZoWomen pic.twitter.com/f3vjbYv55t
— Tongmin Mate (@JUSTICE4theKUKI) January 22, 2026
“If the Central Government could not protect her when the crime occurred, it at least owed her justice,” she said. “But even that was denied. She carried her pain, her trauma, and her hope for justice for nearly three years—until she was forced to carry it into her grave.”
She questioned the continued inaction despite registered cases and transferred investigations, noting that the victim died without seeing a single perpetrator held accountable.
During the protest, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) Women Wing submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner of Kangpokpi, detailing what it described as systematic sexual violence, killings, abductions, and extrajudicial executions of Kuki-Zo women since May 2023.
The memorandum revealed that at least 29 Kuki-Zo women were killed between May 2023 and November 2024, including elderly women and a mentally challenged woman. Documented forms of violence included rape, gang rape, mob lynching, hacking to death, burning alive, and abduction.
Among the cases cited were the rape and murder of Florence Nengpichong Hangshing (27) and Olivia Lhingneithem Chongloi (23) on May 4, 2023, and the public stripping, parading, and gang rape of two Kuki-Zo women in Kangpokpi—an incident that shocked the nation after videos surfaced in July 2023.
Describing the situation as a complete collapse of justice delivery, the CoTU Women Wing stated that investigations remain opaque and delayed, survivors and families have been denied dignity and rehabilitation, and perpetrators continue to enjoy near-total impunity.
The memorandum demanded:
- Immediate arrest and prosecution of all perpetrators
- Time-bound and transparent investigations under strict monitoring
- Independent judicial oversight of all cases
- Official recognition of these acts as crimes against humanity
- Adequate compensation and long-term rehabilitation
- Protection for survivors, witnesses, and human rights defenders
“Justice delayed has now become justice denied—and justice denied has claimed lives,” the memorandum concluded.
Protests Continue Across Districts
In Churachandpur, teams from the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) and the ITLF Women Wing also submitted memoranda to the Deputy Commissioner during sit-in protests against sexual violence and the killing of Kuki-Zo women.
As demonstrations concluded for the day, women leaders vowed to continue their agitation, asserting that silence was no longer an option when dignity, justice, and human lives were at stake.
