The distressing video showing two Manipur women being paraded naked recently has created a massive political storm in the country. While the incident took place on 4th May during the peak of violence in Manipur, and it was even reported on media, the video appeared recently causing a huge outrage. Now, one of the two Kuki women seen in the footage has turned out to be the wife of a retired army subedar and a Kargil War veteran.
The couple is currently taking shelter in a relief camp in Churachandpur. She is in shock since the horrifying incident that took place on 4 May 2023 and the pain of not being able to defend her honour from the cruel mob weighs heavily on the spouse’s life. The violent throng also reduced their house and hearth to ashes, and the pair said that they have lost everything in their lives, from possessions to respect.
“We two women were made to strip at gunpoint in front of thousands of men in the mob in the open. They threatened to kill us if we did not shed our clothes. They made us dance, shoved us, and paraded us. They all behaved like wild animals,” the 42-year-old victim narrated her gut-wrenching ordeal to the Times of India in an interview.
Her 65-year-old husband stated, “She went into a depression but with our children to care for, she is struggling to come back to normal. I have seen the war fighting in the front at Kargil. And when I have returned home, after my retirement, my own place is more dangerous than the battlefield.”
A thousands-strong horde invaded as many as nine towns over the course of two days on May 3 and 4, destroying homes, a church and killing domestic animals in the course of it.
The family is residents of B Phainom hamlet. He further added, “They came to our village on May 4 and as they started burning down houses, all villagers ran here and there to save their lives. My wife got separated from me and she and four other villagers hid behind a tree in the forest. Some of the attackers who were chasing our goats, pigs and chickens also entered the forest and found my wife and the others hiding there and captured them.”
The ex-Army personnel informed, “Besides my wife, there was a woman and baby and three members of one family (father, son and daughter). When they were brought out in the open they saw a waiting police vehicle and hopped into it but the mob overpowered the two policemen and dragged out my wife and the other four.”
The husband was also hauled out of hiding into the village dirt road in the interim, along with any other individuals the assailants could get their hands on.
He revealed, “I could see them taking my wife and the other four to a distance. The three women were forced to strip. One woman who was carrying a baby in her arms was later set free and allowed to go by some people in the mob who knew her. The mob was trying to molest the other younger woman and when her father and younger brother tried to protect them they were killed on the spot.”
The First Information Report disclosed that the younger girl was afterwards “brutally gang raped in broad daylight.” However, police sources maintained that she is untraceable and therefore, gang rape could not be confirmed.
The former soldier proclaimed, “It was about two to three hours this ordeal continued and when the mob dispersed all villagers fled the scene. We walked across the hills and at night I rejoined with my wife at a Naga village. The younger girl was taken away by her boyfriend. The next morning we started trekking with some villagers in our group that had a few pregnant women. Others went in different directions.”
The shocking instance
In the video that recently appeared on social media, a crowd is seen dragging two women to the fields while they are being paraded naked. The FIR filed on 18 May in relation to this incident asserted that the mob severely assaulted three females. They were forcefully snatched from police custody. Social media platforms have been ordered by the centre government to cease disseminating the terrible video.
The victims of this incident submitted in the complaint that on 4 May a group of between 800 and 1000 perpetrators belonging to the Meitei community stormed their village. Lethal firearms such as INSAS and AK series rifles were carried by them. Five villagers, three of whom were women, fled in the direction of the forest to escape them.
The police arrived on the scene and rescued them. They started taking the latter to the police station, however, on the way, the crowd pursued the police and stopped them after which they took the women from their protection.
The father of the 20-year-old victim is reported to be the initial casualty of the violent masses. The three females were then made to remove their clothes. The brother of one of the females was lynched after he protested against their atrocious act. One woman with a child was let go, while the remaining younger woman was reportedly gang-raped. Afterwards, they somehow managed to get out of there. They are now staying in a relief camp.
Notably, the instance happened on 4 May, but the issue gained major traction only after the video came to light on social media.
Four people have been arrested on 20 July in connection to the video. Prime accused 32-year-old Huirem Herodas Meitei of Pechi Awang Leika was arrested first, after which three more accused have been nabbed by the police.
Anusuiya Uikey, the governor of Manipur, condemned the occurrence and ordered the Director General of Police (DGP) to act right away to bring those responsible to justice and punish them severely in accordance with the law.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh highlighted that his government would stop at nothing to get those indicted awarded the death penalty. “A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. Let it be known, there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in our society,” he said.
Manipur Violence
The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state has already resulted in more than 100 fatalities and thousands of displaced residents. The first clashes occurred on 3 May following a “Tribal Solidarity March” organised by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in the hill areas to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Tensions rose in April as a result of a Manipur High Court decision ordering the state administration to make a decision regarding the Scheduled Tribe status issue. The Indian Army had already sent out about 10,000 soldiers and paramilitary units to quell the rioting and restore order.
The majority of Meiteis, who make up around 53% of the northeastern state’s population, reside in the Imphal Valley. Another 40% of the population is made up of the Naga and Kuki tribes, who live in the hill districts.
Home Minister Amit Shah visited the northeastern state on 29 May for a period of four days during which he held meetings with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, leaders of all political parties, civil society, women groups, tribal groups, and security personnel. He announced the formation of a peace committee and a judicial commission under the chairmanship of a retired Chief Justice of a High Court to investigate the violence.
