A 31-year-old tribal woman in Jiribam district, Manipur, was allegedly tortured, raped, and set ablaze in her home on November 7, sparking violent clashes across the region, as confirmed by an autopsy report.
The woman, a mother of three, reportedly endured severe torture before her death, with autopsy findings revealing third-degree burns and signs of inflicted wounds.
The case has intensified the ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state.
The woman's husband filed an FIR, alleging that militants from the Imphal Valley brutally raped her before setting fire to her home in Zairwan village, where 17 other houses were also burned that night.
According to the autopsy report from Silchar Medical College in Assam, her charred remains precluded a definitive rape examination, but the findings included “a wound in the back of the right thigh” and “a metallic nail embedded in the medial aspect of the left thigh,” as well as the absence of parts of her limbs and facial structure.
According to Manipur police, the woman’s remains were transported to Silchar, rather than Imphal, due to safety concerns on National Highway-37 amid the ongoing ethnic unrest.
Tribal groups such as the Kuki-Zo Council condemned the killing as “barbaric” and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice, while the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) warned of further unrest if the killers remain at large.
Since the murder, violence has continued to surge in Jiribam, with incidents on November 11 injuring three individuals, including a Naga, in attacks by militants across Imphal East and Bishnupur districts.
The recent outbreak follows a lull in the ethnic violence that has plagued Manipur since last year, claiming over 260 lives and displacing more than 60,000 people.
Follow us
