A video from Manipur of two women being paraded naked by a mob belonging to the went viral on social media, sparking nationwide outrage.
Published Jul 22, 2023 | 2:07 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 22, 2023 | 2:07 PM
Fifth accused in the Manipur women disrobing case arrested. (iStock)
Police have arrested a fifth accused in connection with the video that surfaced on 19 July showing two women being paraded naked by a mob in strife-torn Manipur, police said. The incident, however, happened over two months back on 4 May.
The fifth accused has been identified as a 19-year-old, police said.
The four who were earlier nabbed for disrobing and parading two women in Manipur were remanded to 11-day police custody on Friday, 21 July, police said.
The initial arrests were made on Thursday, a day after the 26-second video surfaced.
The house of the key accused in the case was torched on Thursday, hours after he was arrested by the police.
According to police, he was seen prominently directing the mob at B Phainom village of Kangpokpi district in the video.
Five arrested so far in viral video case.
As regard to the viral video of 02 (two) women paraded by unknown miscreants on 4th May, 2023, another accused was arrested today.
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— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) July 22, 2023
A participant with a placard at the solidarity event in Bengaluru.
Several citizens and rights activists took to the streets despite heavy rainfall in Hyderabad in Telangana and Bengaluru in Karnataka on Friday, 21 July, accusing the BJP-led Union and Manipur governments of inaction in light of the violence in the state.
The Hyderabad protest was held at the Ambedkar Statue at Liberty Circle near the Tank Bund Road junction, which is opposite the newly inaugurated Telangana Secretariat and Martyr’s Memorial.
In Bengaluru, the protest took place at the Town Hall, with more than 200 people participating in it.
“This has again proved that it (the BJP government) follows a discriminative policy against marginalised groups in the country. Suppose temples were being burnt down, would the matter have still been delayed? For the government to take note, two aadivasi (tribal) women had to undergo such agony. How shameful is this in the world’s largest democracy?” Dalit Women Collective (DWC) founder Sujatha Surepally asked South First.
KLCA protesters lights candles. (George Michael/South First)
Meanwhile, advocate and activist T Narasimhamurthy told South First in Bengaluru: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not have broken his silence even today if not for Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who valiantly declared on Thursday that if the government did not intervene, the Supreme Court certainly would. Now there was no other choice left for PM Modi but to react.”
He added: “We should remember that according to the BJP’s language, it is a ‘double-engine sarkar’ in Manipur, and both the state and the Central governments are unable to contain the ethnic cleansing violence over the past 77 days for reasons best known to them. We are expressing our solidarity from Bengaluru and stand by the people of Manipur at this time.”
On 19 July, a video from Manipur of two women from the Kuki-Zo tribal community being paraded naked by a mob belonging to the Meitei community went viral on social media. The video sparked wide spread outrage from the civil society and Opposition parties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the Manipur issue on 20 July. He condemned the incident as “shameful” and promised that the guilty will not be spared.
One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-army man who had served in the Indian Army as a Subedar of the Assam Regiment and even fought in the Kargil War.
It may be recalled, that the complaint in connection with the viral video was lodged around a month ago on 21 June at Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district.
The FIR filed in this case, a copy of which has been seen by PTI, revealed the tale of mayhem which occurred before the abduction and shameful behaviour with tribal women, a video of which has now formed the basis of raids and arrests of people connected with the incident.
The FIR claimed that one person was killed by the mob as he tried to protect his sister from being raped on 4 May before the two were paraded naked and molested in front of others.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on 3 May, when a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 percent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 percent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
