Manipur woman’s death sparks anger, kin call it rape and murder

Ananya Bhardwaj

Protest outside Malviya Nagar police station. Deepak Shijagurumayum

New Delhi, Jun 4 : Twelve cousins from Manipur reached Delhi days after they heard that their 21-year-old sister was found dead in her rented accommodation in Chirag Dilli on May 29. Before leaving for Delhi, they promised her parents that they would not return till justice is served.

Trashing initial police claim of suicide, the cousins demanded that a case of murder be registered.

For the past four days, the cousins have been doing the rounds of Malviya Nagar police station, Crime Branch office (where the case was transferred on June 1) and women welfare committees.
"Delhi is a foreign land for us. We have been struggling in the city for the past four days. We went to the place where she was living, but the people are not cooperative. But we will fight it out and make sure that justice is done," a cousin said.

The woman came to Delhi in July last year. Her father runs a small eatery in Manipur.

"She wanted to earn well to support her family. She wanted the best education for her four younger sisters," her cousin said. "She left home in 2006, has been the bread winner for her family. She has been working very hard and has not gone home since she left," he said.

He said that his cousin was a "fighter" and "not the kind to commit suicide". "This is the reason that we are so sure that she was killed. It was a cold-blooded murder and we have evidence to prove it," he said.
The woman's body was found with her nose bitten off, injury marks on her leg and scratches on eyelids. Police initially called it a case of suicide and said the injuries were caused due to rat bites.
But when her relatives insisted, police filed a case of murder and it was transferred to Crime Branch.
Speaking to Newsline, her family alleged that she was raped and murdered. Her body was locked in and the man escaped through the back door, which was found open, the family said.

The family claimed that she had told her friends about a stalker.

Police have sent the viscera samples of the body to Ahmedabad for examination and a second post-mortem examination will be conducted on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Minister of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development Kiran Walia sought the intervention of Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

"Tempers are running high among the youth. There is a need to instil confidence in them regarding safety of women," Walia said.