Two women paraded naked on camera in Manipur
A horrific video of two women being paraded naked on a road by a group of men in Manipur has been shared widely on social media, drawing massive condemnation and calls for action.
The two women were gang-raped in a field, a tribal organisation has alleged.
The incident happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, some 35 km from state capital Imphal, according a statement by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF).
A day before this on-camera horror, clashes broke out between the valley-majority Meitei and the hill-majority Kuki tribe over the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status.
The ITLF, which represents the Kuki tribe, in the statement said the two women belong to the Kuki-Zo tribe.
“A video which went viral shows a large Meitei mob parading two Kuki-Zo tribal women naked toward a paddy field to be gang-raped. The despicable scene, which happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, shows the men constantly molesting the helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors,” the ITLF said in the statement.
“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,” the ITLF said, and appealed to the National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take action.
The Manipur Police in a statement said they have filed a case of gang-rape and murder.
“As regard to the viral videos of two women paraded naked by unknown armed miscreants on May 4, a case of abduction, gang-rape and murder was filed at Nongpok Sekmai police station (Thoubal district)… Investigation has started. The state police is making all-out efforts to arrest the culprits at the earliest,” the Manipur Police said in a statement.