A shocking video in which two women were seen paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a violent mob in violence-hit Manipur surfaced after over two months of the incident and went viral on the internet. The inhumane act committed against the two women drew strong condemnations from several groups, with some demanding capital punishment for the culprits.
The Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) condemned the incident, and said such horrifying and hideous crime committed in the state where women are uplifted at high status is unfortunate.
A release issued by IPR secretary of FOCS, Nerish Mangang, demanded arrest of all the culprits involved in the case and a legal action initiated as per the law of the land.
The Manipur Women Federation also condemned the inhumane crime against the two women and expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi comment only on the incident and not the long-drawn-out violence which has gripped the state for nearly 80 days.
“The prime minister’s assurance to take stringent action in Manipur as a reaction to the video can give an entirely different context to the whole crisis in Manipur,” the federation stated.
The Citizens for Justice Manipur (CFJM) also condemned the crime against the two young women and urged the state government to take all necessary legal actions to identify all persons responsible for the crime, book them under appropriate law and award the most stringent punishment befitting the nature of crime against humanity, women in particular, as per law of the land.
It further added that an exemplary punishment against such crime is necessary to aware and deter the present, younger and future generations from committing such crimes.
COCOMI has also “strongly condemned the barbaric and uncivilized act of violence" and said it is trying all possible means to hunt down the culprit wherever they are. The action is committed by few sickened criminal perpetrators and the entire Meetei society is in deep shame and anguish over the crime, committee Media Coordinator said in a release.
COCOMI said it firmly believes that all those involved in the barbaric act will not be spared by the Meetei community in any ways and befitting punishment will surely be given to everyone involved in the crime, it added.
Addressing the media at its office in Imphal, executive member of the committee’s women wing, Ima Leirik Leima questioned why the state government did not disclose such an incident to the general public.
Violation against women is against the whole women community and the women wing of the committee could punish the culprits if it is known to the public regarding the incident earlier, she added.
Another executive member of the committee, RK Tharaksana told the media that the committee will also press the government to punish severe punishments towards the culprits. She appealed to the people of the state not to repeat similar incidents in the near future.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) said in a release that the video which went viral shows a large Meitei mob parading two Kuki-Zo tribal women naked toward a paddy field to be gang-raped.
The gangrape of the women in B Phainom village happened after the village was burnt down and two men - one middle-aged and another a teenager - were brutally beaten to death by the mob. 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, the ITLF said.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum vehemently condemns the sickening act and demands that the central and state governments, National Commission for Women, and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take cognizance of the offense and take all necessary measures to bring justice to the culprits, Ginza Vualzong, Media & Publicity of ITLF said.
Demanding capital punishment to the culprits, the Ningthoukhong Keithel Phambi Ima Lup and Women Wing Ningthoukhong also conducted sit-in protests.
Reacting to the video, Women Wing Ningthoukhong convenor, Tombisana said it is a highly condemnable incident.
“No mother will forgive such kind of inhuman treatment to women,” she said, adding that the culprits should be punished.
"Whether it be Meitei, Tribal, Meitei-Pangal, such inhuman assault will not be tolerated. Face the conflict or any incident with your contemporary, not with women or child," she added.
Another sit-in protest was also held by the Apunba Nupi Lup Phubala at Phubala Keithel.
The Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL) also expressed condemnation. Recalling the infamous Manorama case, AMKIL said mothers will not tolerate such ill-treatment and inhuman acts against women.
AMKIL president Lourembam Nganbi, while speaking to the media at Manipur Press Club, said that during war, women and children should not be touched. Killing of Kuki women after rape during war is highly condemnable.
She warned not to forget mothers' stand in the Manorama case. Mothers will not bother while giving capital punishment to those culprits, she added.
The Meetei Christian Churches Council, Manipur (MCCCM) also condemned the recent viral video where two women were paraded naked. MCCCM, in a release, urged to award befitting punishments for their crime against women by taking advantage of the prevailing clash.
Condemning the heinous crime in the strongest terms possible, the Working Group for Naga Rights in Manipur said: “The unimaginable act has shattered our souls, and has left us wondering about the moral moorings of a community that permits such unthinkable act to be perpetrated in broad daylight… The Working Group urges the state authorities to spare no effort to identify the perpetrators and subject them to the severest punishment as per the relevant laws of the land. The incumbent dispensation cannot take cover behind “conflict” and turn a blind eye to this barbaric act. Humanity demands a prompt and fitting answer to this mob-created horror.”
The Tangkhul Shanao Long (TSL), an apex body of Manipur's Tangkhul woman body, said: We cannot imagine a society that does not respect human dignity, a society that nurtured rapists of a sister, a mother and a daughter. The incident only exposes the hegemony and oppressive nature of Meitei society. Can any decent society tolerate such cruelty and inhumanly action committed against innocent women? It further asked.
It also asked why does the government, be it Centre or State remain a mute spectator to Manipur's situation where every day gross violation of human rights are committed by dominant society.
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