Women paraded naked, gangraped in Manipur, Biren Singh says crime against humanity

Violence-hit Manipur saw fresh outrage after a video of two women being paraded naked and molested surfaced on July 19. The alleged incident took place on May 4 in Kangkopi district, according to a complaint associated with the incident. 

The visual shows two women stripped naked and dragged to a paddy field by a mob. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, which condemned the incident, claims that the women belonged to Kuki-Zo tribe while the mob, which molested them were Meiteis. 

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told India Today NE that the government took suo motto cognizance of the video and ordered a probe. The complaint filed at Saikul Police station by Thangboi Vaiphei, 65, chief of B. Phainom village, alleges that a third woman was gangraped by the mob. The FIR was registered on June 21, more than month after the incident. The case has been registered under Section 153A/398/427/436/448/302/354/364/326/376/34 of Indian Penal Code and 25(1C) of Arms Act. “This is a crime against humanity. As soon as this video came to my notice today, I asked the police to arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible. Action will be taken against police officers too if they are found to be negligent in taking quick action,” Chief Minister Singh told India Today NE. 

According to the complaint, on May 4, a day after violence first broke out in Manipur, at around 3 pm, around 800-1,000 persons carrying sophisticated weapons such as AK Rifles, SLR, INSAS and .303 Rilfes entered B. Phainom village and vandalised and looted properties and burnt down the houses. The miscreants were suspected to be members of Meitei organisations Meetei Leepun, Kangleipak Kanba Lup, Arambai Tenggol and World Meitei Council and Schedule Tribe Demand Committee. 

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During the attack, five villagers two men and three women, fled to the forest. They were later rescued by Nongpok Sekmai Police team and were being taken to Nongpok Sekmai PS when the mob abducted them from the police team near Toubul (Sekmai khunou), around 2 km from the police station. 

The mob killed one of the men instantly and forced the three women to take off their clothes. One of them, 19, was brutally gang raped and when her brother, the other man, tried to defend her modesty, he was murdered. The three women later managed to escape from the spot with the help of some people not known to them. 

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, while condemning the sickening act, has appealed to the Central and state governments, National Commission for Women, and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take cognizance of the offence and take all necessary measures to bring the culprits to book. “The horrifying ordeal suffered by these innocent women is amplified by the perpetrators’ decision to share the video, which shows the identity of the victims, on social media,” mentions a release by the tribal body.