A 17-year-old Class XII student, who had been residing in a relief camp since violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023, was found dead on Tuesday in an apparent case of suicide. Officials confirmed that the incident occurred at the Leimaram High School relief camp in Bishnupur district, where the school premises have been functioning as a temporary shelter for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The teenager, originally from Leimaram Waroiching, had been living at the camp with her family for nearly three years following their displacement. She was appearing for her Higher Secondary examinations, which commenced on February 17, at the time of her death.
According to officials, no suicide note has been recovered. However, family members stated that she had recently expressed a strong desire to return home and had conveyed her reluctance to continue living in the relief camp. She was discovered unresponsive at the camp on Tuesday morning.
A case of Unnatural Death has been registered at the Nambol police station. Following a post-mortem examination conducted at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal, the body was handed over to her family.
Manipur has witnessed sustained ethnic unrest since May 2023, with clashes initially breaking out between the Meitei and Kuki communities before spreading more widely across the state. The violence has resulted in at least 260 fatalities and displaced approximately 50,000 people. The prolonged instability led to the dismissal of the state government earlier this year.
