IMPHAL, India: India is in extreme anger and a strong feeling of unhappiness after a mob paraded naked two women in the violence-hit northeastern state of Manipur, media reported on Thursday.
The police said they have opened a case of gang rape and have arrested a man, adding that others will also be held soon after a video showed two women being paraded naked by a mob. According to media reports, the incident is likely to dominate discussions in the parliament’s monsoon session, which begins today.
PM Modi said the incident had “shamed India” and that “no guilty will be spared”. “I assure the nation, the law will take its course with all its might. What happened with the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” he said, finally breaking his silence on Manipur more than two months after violence began in the state.
The country’s top court also expressed its concern over the assault. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the court was “really disturbed over the video” and asked the government to take action.
Police said the assault on the women took place on May 4 but it made national headlines on Thursday after the video started going viral on social media. The federal government has asked all social media companies to delete the video from their platforms.
Manipur state has been badly hit by violence and at least 130 have died and 60,000 have been displaced since ethnic clashes started between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May. The horrific video of the naked women was widely shared on social media on Wednesday. It shows them being dragged and groped by a mob of men who then pushed them into a field.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said in a statement that the atrocities had been committed against women from the Kuki-Zo tribal community in a Kangpokpi district village. The Forum also alleged that the women had been gang raped.
It’s well known that women are often a victim of conflicts and rape and sexual assault are used as instruments of violence to punish them. The sexual assault of a Kuki mother and daughter duo, who were molested by a mob of men in Manipur, is the latest example of that.
The video footage showing the women weeping, wincing in pain and begging their attackers to show some mercy is disturbing to watch.
The fact that the first arrest was made only after the outrage 78 days after the incident and was reported to the police more than two months back doesn’t inspire much confidence in the administration – more so since many of the men are clearly identifiable in the footage.
The incident has also raised questions about the failure of the state in comforting the survivors and finally forced Mr Modi to make a statement on the ethnic violence.
“The gang rape of the women happened after the village was burnt down and two men – one middle-aged and another a teenager – were beaten to death by the mob,” the ITLF said.
According to police, the incident – that sparked strong reactions from politicians across the spectrum – took place on May 4 and a case of abduction, gang rape, and murder had been registered in Thoubal district.
Federal minister Smriti Irani, called the incident “condemnable and downright inhuman”.
Several opposition leaders also criticised the BJP government for not doing enough to quell the violence in the state.
