‘I cannot go on’: Mother’s anguish after daughter raped – and husband and son die trying to save her
“I cannot carry on God, please help me,” a mother says as she struggles to understand what has happened to her family.
Her pain and trauma is unimaginable. Her 21-year-old daughter was gang raped, assaulted and paraded naked by a mob in northeast India.
Her husband and 19-year-old son were bludgeoned to death when they tried to save her.
They and others were caught up in the vortex of ethnic clashes between the majority Hindu Meitei community and minority Christian Kuki-Zomi tribe that have engulfed the remote state of Manipur, next to the border with Myanmar.
When their village was attacked and burnt, they tried to escape but were caught by a mob. Women were made to strip at gunpoint.
In a statement shared with Sky News, the young woman said the men shouted “if you don’t take your clothes off, we will burn you alive”.
A viral video of the incident that shows the horrific crime has caused outrage across the nation.
In an interview with Sky News, her mother wept, saying “my daughter is mentally not stable, she’s finding it difficult to cope, no words can express her condition”.
The bodies of her husband and son and that of 90 other victims are still in hospital mortuaries in the state capital, Imphal.
She continued: “I wish is that we no longer live together with those who raped and murdered us, I want to see the remains of my husband and son and give them a proper burial.”
There is no closure for Theim and Thang Piang, parents of 21-year-old university student Hanglalmuan Vaiphei.
He was picked up by the police for sharing a Facebook post criticising the chief minister and was whisked away to a jail in the capital.
Thiem lost her son in an attack
While returning from a court date under police custody he was snatched by a mob and beaten to death.
“He should have been alive today, even in this conflict,” Theim says, breaking down. “After all he was in the custody of the police and the government.
“I miss him so much, I am now broken emotionally, physically and mentally. Every time we are at the table I expect him to join me,” she says.
University student Hanglalmuan Vaiphei
She is not alone. At least 130 people have been killed in the ethnic clashes and there are no signs of it stopping.
In the Imphal valley, Meira Paibis or the “Women Torch bearers” comprising of Meitei mothers are gaining a notorious reputation of being vigilantes. They are revered for guarding the moral values of the community but are now on the forefront of this agitation.
They are everywhere, conducting stop and search on vehicles even including military trucks and soldiers.
Anima, a leader at one of the check posts in Bishnupur tells Sky News: “We are checking for weapons and bomb making materials that are being smuggled for the Kukis.”
On the video of the naked women being paraded, Anima says: “We absolutely condemn that incident. We burnt the house of the main perpetrator.
“But what about our girls that were raped and made homeless? We don’t have evidence or videos. Why is everyone so pre-occupied with that video only?”
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‘They burnt down our homes’
Violence spares no one. Hijam Singh, a Meitei from Imphal, is desperate for any news of his 17-year-old daughter.
Luwangbi Linthoingambi went missing more than three weeks ago after attending one of her classes. She and her friend were last seen on a motorbike going towards a tribal area.
“I feel she is very much alive, even when people say she would be dead. I feel she is alive,” he says.
Hijam Singh’s teenage daughter went missing
He says he is still hopeful as there have been no recoveries of her bag, clothes or a body. He has knocked on doors but for many like him there are more questions than answers in Manipur today.
Choking up, he says: “If my daughter is killed they may consider it a win. But if I can forgive that can also be a victory.”
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
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March: ‘We are going to lose children’: Fears over USAID cuts in Kenya
USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
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Queer HIV activist on Trump and Musk’s USAID cuts
Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
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USAID explained
USAID ‘a bowl of worms’ – Musk
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What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.
The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.
Protesters gathered in Bangkok at the weekend. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.
Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.
Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.
Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.
The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.
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The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.
Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.
Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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