Manipur horrific video: 4 arrests, Chief Minister assures exemplary action

Manipur, which was slowly limping back to a sense of normalcy, is once again gripped with tension after a May 4 video surfaced on social video platforms.

Showing two women being paraded naked by dozens of men. The video emerged on social media late Wednesday night.

The women in the video belonged to one of the warring communities in the hill state. The mob also allegedly gang-raped one of the women and her brother was killed when he tried to intervene.

The incident triggered outrage, with leaders across political lines condemning the heinous act. Opposition parties also cornered the ruling BJP government in Parliament over the incident.

Here are top developments in the story:
A day after the video went viral on social media, the members of the Kuki community carried out a protest march in the state’s Churachandpur. The agitators were dressed in black clothes. They demanded strict action against the men who paraded the two women and sexually assaulted them.

The Manipur Police on Thursday arrested one of the main accused who was part of the mob paraded and molested the women. The accused, who could be seen prominently in the 26-second clip, was arrested from Thoubal district. The Manipur Police said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder has been registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unknown armed miscreants.

Three more arrests were made hours later in connection with the case.

Condemning the incident, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in society. He assured strict actions, including possible capital punishment, against the perpetrators.

“My hearts go out to the two women who were subjected to a deeply disrespectful and inhumane act, as shown in the distressing video that surfaced yesterday. After taking a suo motu cognisance of the incident immediately after the video surfaced, the Manipur Police swung to action and made the first arrest this morning.

“A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. Let it be known, there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in our society,” the Manipur chief minister tweeted.

In his first remarks since the violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the sexual assault of women. “My heart is full of pain and anger. The incident in Manipur that has come to light is shameful for any civil society,” PM Modi said ahead of a Parliament session.

He assured that the “law will act with its full might” and the guilty won’t be spared.

A Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra, took cognisance of the video and asked the Centre and Manipur government to take immediate action.

“I think it is time that the government really steps in and takes action because this is simply unacceptable,” the CJI said, adding, “We will give a little time to the government to act, otherwise we will take action if nothing is happening on the ground.”

Justice Chandrachud said using women as an instrument to perpetrate violence in an area of communal strife is “deeply disturbing” and this is “simply unacceptable”.

Delhi Commission for Women Chief Swati Maliwal has written to PM Modi, demanding immediate steps to curb the violence in Manipur and arrest those behind parading two women naked and allegedly sexually assaulting them. Swati Maliwal said she plans to visit Manipur to interact with the survivors, their families, and other women and girls who may be living in fear and vulnerability.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has formally directed Twitter India to remove the video of women being paraded naked.

“NCW has formally directed the Head, Public Policy at @TwitterIndia to remove the video showing the disgraceful act of two women being paraded naked. This video compromises the victims’ identities and is a punishable offense (sic),” the NCW said in a tweet.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, demanded that Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh be sacked and President’s rule be imposed in the ethnic violence-hit northeastern state.

The opposition parties took up the issue of Manipur violence on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament. The opposition MPs created uproar in the Parliament, demanding a discussion on the violence-hit Manipur.

Accusing the Centre of turning democracy into a “mobocracy”, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said “humanity has died in Manipur” and asked Modi to speak about the ethnic violence-hit state in Parliament and tell the nation what happened.

Over 150 people have died and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.