GUWAHATI: A horrific video of two women being paraded naked on a road by a group of men in Manipur has drawn massive condemnation and calls for action.
The two women from the minority tribal Kuki-Zomi community were gang-raped in a field, a tribal organisation has alleged. Scores of men can be seen walking alongside as others drag the women into the fields.
The incident happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, some 35 km from the state capital Imphal, according to a statement by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF). The police said the incident happened in another district but a case was filed in Kangpokpi.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has ordered the police to investigate this case on priority. He told an Indian media outlet that Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani spoke to him about the horrific incident and assured of speedy action against the perpetrators of the crime.
A day before the video was released, clashes broke out between the valley-majority Meitei and the hill-majority Kuki tribe in Manipur over demands for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status.
The ITLF in the statement said, “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 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. It appealed to the National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take action.
Manipur Police said they have filed a case of gang-rape and murder. Indian political leaders and others have expressed shock on social media over the Manipur incident, and asked the centre and the state government to take action against the men involved in the horrific act.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted in Hindi that pictures of sexual violence against women coming from Manipur are heart-wrenching.
“The amount of condemnation of this horrific incident of violence against women is less. Women and children have to bear the maximum brunt of violence in the society,” she tweeted.
The Kuki tribe has demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister. Over 120 have died in the ethnic violence and thousands have been internally displaced and are now living in relief camps.
