(Combines related stories)
The Manipur Police on Thursday arrested one of the main accused who was seen in a May 4 video of two tribal women being paraded naked and molested by a mob at a village in Senapati district, officials said.
They said several police teams were formed immediately after the video of the incident surfaced. One of the people, alleged to be the mastermind, was arrested from Thoubal district, officials said. The accused was prominently seen in the 26-second clip.
Police had issued a statement on Wednesday saying a case of abduction, gang rape and murder has been registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unknown armed miscreants and that all-out eftorts were on to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it is “deeply disturbed” by the video of two women in Manipur being paraded naked.
Terming it “simply unacceptable*, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the Centre and the state government to take immediate steps and apprise the apex court on what action has been taken.
We will give a little time to the government to act otherwise we will take action if nothing is happening on the ground’ the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra, said.
Meanwhile, the government has asked Twitter and other social media platforms to take down a video of two Manipur women paraded naked, since the matter is being probed.
Sources said the videos were inflammatory, and as the matter is under investigation, Twitter and other social media companies have been asked to remove the video.
The widely circulated video from Manipur which shows a group of men molesting two women has sparked an outrage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the alleged incident of women being paraded naked in Manipur has shamed 140 crore Indians, asserting that law will act with its full might and no guilty will be spared.
*My heart is full of pain and anger,” he told reporters in his remarks ahead of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, amid his criticism by opposition parties for not speaking on the ethnic violence in the north east state.
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side.
The video was doing the rounds on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) on Thursday to highlight their plight.
Police said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder has been registered at Nongpok Sekmai
police station In Thoubal, district against unknown armed miscreants, a statement, they said an all-out effort is on to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
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.
Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has said that she has spoken to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh over the video. She termed the incident “condemnable and downright inhuman.
In a tweet on Thursday night, the Union minister said, “The horrific video of sexual assault of two women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM N Biren Singh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway and
assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.”
The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre over the video with party president Mallikarjun Kharge accusing the Narendra Modi government of turning democracy into “mobocracy”.
He said that ‘humanity has died in Manipur” and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak about the ethnic violence-hit state in Parliament and tell the nation what happened.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament starts on Thursday.
Slamming the government, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it has been 63 days since an FIR was filed against unknown persons and the culprits are still at large, he said.
“The rest of India had little clue that such a horrific incident occurred due to the ongoing Internet ban in Manipur. But it’s absolutely inexcusable that the Women and Child Development Minister (Smriti Irani) waited for 76 days to speak to the Manipur CM or even issue a statement.” Ramesh said in his long Twitter post.
On Wednesday night, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said ‘INDIA’ (opposition coalition) will not stay silent while the idea of India is being attacked” in the northeastern state.
“We stand with the people of Manipur. Peace is the only way forward” Gandhi tweeted.
The Congress has been demanding a discussion in Parliament on the Manipur situation where violence since May 3 has led to several deaths.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said the government was ready for a discussion on the situation in Manipur during
the Monsoon Session of Parliament but termed a “caveat for disruption” the opposition’s demand for a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
