New Delhi: Hours after a video, purportedly of two women being paraded naked by a group of men in Manipur, went viral on social media Wednesday, state Chief Minister N. Biren Singh called it a “crime against humanity”, and told ThePrint that the government had taken suo motu cognizance of the video and ordered a probe in the matter.
The Manipur CM added that the state government would make all efforts to ensure that capital punishment is meted out to those who had allegedly raped the two women seen in the video in a field.
While the video went viral on social media Wednesday, the alleged incident purportedly took place earlier.
“I am shocked beyond words and strongly condemn this heinous crime. This is a crime against humanity. Directions have been issued to check the authenticity of the video and arrest the culprits immediately. We will press for capital punishment in this case,” Singh told ThePrint.
The chief minister who has been under fire over his handling of the ethnic violence which has been ongoing in the state for over two months now, said he had issued directions to the police to arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible. He further said that action will also be taken again police authorities if found negligent in the matter.
When asked why there has been a delay in filing an FIR in this particular case, the chief minister said “thousands of cases” had come up during the violence and all efforts were being made to investigate each one of them.
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‘No effort spared to bring perpetrators to justice’
Ethnic clashes between Manipur’s tribal Kuki and non-tribal Meitei communities erupted on 3 May, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ taken out to oppose the demand for inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and for what was described as an effort to secure the rights and constitutional safeguards of the ethnic Kuki and their sub-tribes. According to police data, the violence has so far claimed over 157 lives and displaced more than 50,000.
ThePrint had earlier reported how sexual violence against women was, however, the least talked about aspect of the ongoing violence.
Among those who were allegedly raped during the violence were a Kuki woman in her 40s and a teenager, who were dragged to a paddy field in Kangpokpi district on 4 May and allegedly gangraped by a group of inebriated men, some of whom were as young as 15 years old.
ThePrint had earlier spoken to survivors and volunteers at relief camps to learn about at least six alleged cases of rape, including the 40-year-old and teenager from Kangpokpi, none of whom had filed police complaints at the time.
Speaking to ThePrint, Biren Singh added that Union minister for women and child development Smriti Irani had talked to him regarding the purported video of the two women and he had assured her of speedy action.
Irani also tweeted Wednesday that she had spoken to Singh about the viral video and that he had assured her that “no effort will be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice”.
The horrific video of sexual assault of 2 women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM @NBirenSingh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway & assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) July 19, 2023
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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