- 16 March, 2026
March 16, 2026: Nearly three years after two Kuki-Zo women were stripped, paraded and gang-raped by a mob in Manipur’s Thoubal district — an attack in which the brother and father of one of the survivors were killed — three accused in the case remain absconding, two have been granted bail, and the bail plea of another is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court of India later this month.
The husband of one of the survivors, a former Army jawan and a key witness in the case, told The Hindu that a prime suspect identified as Loya, who is accused of killing the two men, is still at large. He alleged that there have been no serious efforts to arrest him. The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the directions of the Supreme Court. The Manipur Police had arrested seven individuals, including a juvenile, in July 2023.
Referring to the slow progress of the trial, the witness said, “We attend the hearings through video-conferencing (trial being held in Guwahati). Justice remains elusive. Two accused are already on bail. The main accused, Loya, who killed the two men, was known to us. Despite the survivor’s statements, he has not been arrested and continues to move around freely. People known to me in the area have told me.”
The victims had fled their village in Kangpokpi district after ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023. According to investigators, a mob of around 1,000 people attacked their village the following day.
A chargesheet filed by the CBI alleges that Loya beat the brother and father of one of the victims to death using a large wooden log and also participated in the sexual assault. Two other accused — Chinglen and Inaoton — who were named by the survivors for their role in the assault and the parading of the women, are also absconding.
The incident took place on May 4, 2023, but came to national attention only on July 19 that year after a video of the assault surfaced online, leading to widespread outrage and intervention by the Supreme Court. The case was subsequently transferred to the CBI, which filed its chargesheet on October 12, 2023. The trial was shifted to Guwahati as the victims were unable to travel to the valley areas of Manipur to attend court proceedings.
On September 8, 2025, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to two accused — Nameirakpam Kiran Meitei and Arun Khundongbam. While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, the court stated that continued incarceration without trial cannot serve as a form of pre-trial punishment.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Khundongbam was part of the mob and allegedly played an active role in the sexual assault, gang rape, naked parading of the women, and the murder of two relatives of one victim. Kiran Meitei is accused of participating in the crime and circulating the video of the assault that later went viral online. Both were identified by the victims during a virtual test identification parade.
The chargesheet also alleges that policemen present at the scene did not assist the women during the mob attack. They reportedly said the police vehicle had “no key” before leaving the victims at the mercy of the mob.
Investigators stated that the women escaped through forests over the following 48 hours before reaching safety. The FIR in the case was registered later after the video emerged. The CBI said the role of the police personnel is still under investigation and has appealed against the bail granted to the two accused in the Supreme Court.
Another accused, Yumlembam Jiban Singh, has filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court challenging a Gauhati High Court order dated December 16, 2025, which rejected his bail plea solely on the grounds of the gravity of the alleged offences despite acknowledging the prolonged incarceration.
He is accused of recording and sharing the video of the assault and has sought parity with the two co-accused who are already out on bail. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on March 24.
Three other accused still in custody are Huirem Herodash Meitei, Ningombam Tomba Singh, and Pukhrihongbam Suranjoy Meitei.
A February 26 order of the Supreme Court detailed the status of investigations into cases related to the Manipur violence that are being monitored by Special Investigation Teams (SITs) under former Maharashtra police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was appointed by the court on August 7, 2023, to oversee the probe.
The 12th status report submitted by Padsalgikar on February 18 stated that Manipur has formed 36 SITs across eight districts to investigate riot-related cases, while 31 serious cases have been handed over to the CBI. Of these, 20 chargesheets have been filed, five cases have been closed with final reports, and six investigations remain pending and are expected to be completed within six months.
Courtesy: The Hindu News
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