Imphal, July 21, 2023 (PPI-OT): Shocking details have emerged in the incident of parading two women after stripping them naked in the Indian state of Manipur. The FIR of the incident says that an armed mob, nearly a thousand strong, had attacked a village in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and torched, looted houses, killed and raped wantonly before abducting two women whose forced naked parade caught on video sent shockwaves.
The FIR filed in this case, today (June 21), as reported by the Indian media, revealed the tale of mayhem which occurred before the abduction and shameful behaviour with tribal women. The video of the incident has formed the basis of raids and arrests of people involved. The FIR said that one person was killed by the mob as he tried to protect his sister from being raped on May 4 before the two were paraded naked and molested in front of others. “Around 900-1000 persons carrying sophisticated weapons like AK rifles, SLR, INSAS and .303 rifles forcefully entered our village (on May 4) … in Island subdivision, Kangpokpi district, about 68 km south from Saikul police station. The violent mob vandalised all the houses and burnt them to the ground after looting all the moveable properties,” the FIR lodged at Saikul police station said.
The mob entered the village at around 3 pm and took away cash, furniture, electronic items, foodgrains, furniture and cattle heads from the houses, it said. The mob also snatched away five people who were rescued by police personnel from a nearby forest, it added. The five villagers had fled to the forest in fear following the attack. The police arrested four people in connection with parading the women naked and molesting them a day after a video showing their humiliation surfaced on July 19. However, the complaint in this connection was lodged around a month ago – June 21 – at Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district.
Angry local people attacked the house of one of the four at Pechi Awang in Thoubal district, ransacked it and set it afire on Thursday night, police said. The 32-year-old man was seen dragging one of the two women.
More than 160 people have died, and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Meiteis (majority of them Hindus) account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis (majority of them Dalits), constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
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