New Delhi (Agency): In Manipur, a state in northeastern India, police have identified 14 more people from a viral video that showed two women being undressed and paraded around by a mob. The police have already arrested six people associated with the disturbing incident. The video of the event, which occurred on May 4 in the Kangpokpi district, started circulating online on July 19.
The two women were reported to have been sexually assaulted before being released by the mob. The video clip that caught the attention of authorities and netizens lasted only 26 seconds, but its contents were shocking and horrifying.
One of the victims in the video is the wife of a former Army subedar, a rank equivalent to a warrant officer. The ex-Army man had served in the Assam Regiment and was a veteran of the Kargil War, a conflict between India and Pakistan that took place in the late 1990s.
A complaint regarding the viral video was lodged on June 21 at the Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district, almost a month after the incident took place. Thepolice did not arrest any of the culprit for almost 70 days, only after the video went viral, it took action.
The footage has drawn public focus to the brutalities endured by the Kuki minority community, especially women, since the commencement of the ethnic conflict in Manipur in early May. Over 140 individuals, primarily from the Kuki tribe, have lost their lives in this violence, and approximately 60,000 have been uprooted. The region is essentially divided along ethnic borders, with the Meitei tribe ruling the valleys and the Kukis holding sway in the hill areas. The Kuki tribe is now advocating for an independent state.
The women, aged 21 and 42, featured in the video were part of a group trying to escape their village after it was set on fire by an aggressive Meitei group of around 800 to 1,000 people, as stated in the report they submitted to the police.
While escaping, they ran into another hostile Meitei group who surrounded the women, compelled them to undress, and then led them down the street while multiple men in the crowd assaulted them. The two women were later discarded in a field where they claimed they were brutally gang-raped. It is alleged that two Kuki men from their group were killed by the mob.
Manipur activists report that this wasn’t a one-off occurrence. Several Kuki women were subjected to sexual assault and rape by Meitei mobs at the beginning of the ethnic conflict, triggered by unfounded rumors that Kukis were violating and killing Meitei women.
This incident unfolded against the backdrop of ethnic violence that has wracked Manipur since May 3. On that day, a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the demand of the Meitei community for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The Meitei community makes up about 53% of Manipur’s population and primarily lives in the Imphal Valley. The tribal communities, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute about 40% of the population and primarily live in the hill districts. The ongoing tensions between these groups have already claimed more than 160 lives and resulted in numerous injuries.
The police, having identified the 14 people from the video, have now initiated actions to arrest them. The case stands as a poignant reminder of the dangers that such ethnic and communal violence pose, not only to social harmony but to individual lives. As the investigations proceed and arrests are made, the hope is for justice to prevail for the victims of this appalling incident.