Manipur violence: Tensions have erupted in Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced showing two women being paraded naked, sexually molested by a group of men. The women belonged to one of the warring communities amid ongoing violence in the state.
The video went viral on social media on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) on Thursday (tomorrow) to highlight their plight.
Speaking on the matter, Manipur's Kongkopi Village SP said, "All out effort is being made to arrest culprits as regard to the viral video of two women paraded naked."
As regard to the viral video, a case of abduction, gangrape and murder has been filed.
According to a spokesperson of ITLF, the "despicable scene", which happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, shows 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."
While condemning the "sickening act", the spokesperson in a statement demanded that the central and state governments, National Commission for Women and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes take cognisance of the offence and bring the culprits before the law.
The Kuki-Zo tribals are planning to raise this issue as well during a proposed protest march in Churchandpur on Thursday.
Manipur state has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May 3 between majority the Meiteis, concentrated in Imphal valley, and the Kukis, occupying the hills.
Over 160 people have been killed in the violence so far.
Rahul Gandhi condemns incident
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident of two women being paraded naked in violence-hit Manipur, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence and inaction on the ethnic violence in the northeastern state has led to anarchy there, adding that 'INDIA' will not remain if the very idea of the country is attacked.
AAP says 'most shocking'
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) termed the video from Manipur as "most shocking" and condemned the incident.
It also accused the Central and the state governments of not doing anything to stop the violence and termed their "inaction" as "painful for all the citizens of the country".
The AAP also said that it requests all citizens not to aggravate the plight and humiliation of the helpless women and speak up against the sickening act without sharing the gruesome video.
"We have come across a viral video purportedly from Manipur where two women are paraded naked and are constantly molested by their captors. It has been brought to our notice that the video was shot on May 4 in Kangpokpi district in B Phainom Village where both the women were gang-raped after the entire village was burnt down. The Aam Aadmi Party condemns this horrifying and continued ordeal of the helpless people of Manipur," it said.
With inputs from agencies
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