Mob who paraded two women naked before gang-raping them in ‘revenge attack sparked by fake video’ could face death penalty, minister warns as cops make four arrests
- Two women were filmed being paraded naked along a street in Manipur, India
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned attack as four men are arrested
Four men have been arrested after two women were paraded naked along a street in India before being allegedly gang-raped in a field, sparking furious protests.
Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, revealed the arrests amid nationwide outrage over the incident, with took place in Manipur, northeast India, in early May.
One of the alleged perpetrators, Huirem Heradas Singh, 32, was arrested this morning in Thoubal district, NDTV reports. The man is alleged to have been seen dragging one of the women.
If convicted, the men could face the death penalty, said Biren Singh.
The Chief Minister added: ‘After seeing the video, we took a decision to condemn the heinous crime and we term it a crime against humanity…
Members of the All India Mahila (AIMC) Congress shout slogans during a protest over sexual violence against women and for peace in the ongoing ethnic violence in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur, in New Delhi on Thursday
Members of the Aam Aadmi Party hold candles during a candlelight vigil to protest against the ongoing violence in Manipur
Members of All India Magila Congress hold placards with portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a message reading “Modi break your silence on Manipur” during a protest over sexual violence against women
A man holds a placard at a protest against the ongoing violence in Manipur state
‘Further investigation is going on and those who are involved will also be arrested and booked as per the law of the land.
‘I want to appeal that this should be the last crime against women, sisters and elders. We should respect our sisters mothers and elders.’
Police state that they have identified others in the video and all alleged suspects will be arrested this evening.
The harrowing video shows the two naked women being dragged down a road, while young men grope their genitals as the victims try to pull away from their clawing hands.
The attack sparked angry protests in New Delhi today, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the brutal assault has ‘shamed India’.
‘The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,’ Modi said in his first comments on ethnic clashes in the remote state that is ruled by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
‘My heart is filled with pain and anger. The incident from Manipur that has come to the fore is shameful for any civilised nation,’ he said, as he urged chief ministers to strengthen law enforcement.
The remote state of Manipur has been in the grips of a near-civil war since May, which has left 130 dead and seen mobs rampage through villages killing people and torching houses.
Female congress members protest over sexual violence against women and for peace in the ongoing ethnic violence in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur
Women’s rights activists hold a candlelight vigil to protest against the ongoing violence against women and girls in Manipur state
Harrowing video shows the two naked women being dragged down a road in Manipur state, northeast India, while young men grope their genitals as the victims try to pull away from their clawing hands. Pictured: A video grab from the footage showing the mob of men
The attack sparked angry protests in New Delhi today (pictured), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the brutal assault has ‘shamed India’
‘The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,’ Modi said today (pictured)
In the latest violence, the two women were paraded through the street after a mob of men ripped off their clothes and began groping their bodies. The terrified women were seen being led into a field by the mob where they were gang-raped, according to locals.
A preliminary probe showed that the assault on the two women took place on May 4 but videos of them being dragged, groped and paraded naked by armed miscreants only went viral on Wednesday, police said.
The two victims were part of a family who were attacked by a mob that killed its two male members, according to a police complaint that alleges rape and murder by ‘unknown miscreants’.
India’s Supreme Court expressed its concern over the assault and asked the government to inform the court about the steps it has taken to apprehend the accused.
‘In a constitutional democracy it is unacceptable. If the government does not act, we will,’ Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said.
Policemen detain a member of the youth wing of India’s Congress party during a protest over the deadly ethnic clashes in Manipur on Thursday
Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard to enforce curfew in Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, on Monday
The shell of a burnt houses stands following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, on Wednesday
People hold placards during a protest over sexual violence against women and for peace in the ongoing ethnic violence in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur
The two women are now safe in a refugee camp.
They are from the Kuki-Zo community, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a tribal organization in Manipur.
Ethnic violence in the state was sparked in May by an affirmative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand from the mostly Hindu Meiteis for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills populated by Kukis and other tribal groups and get a share of government jobs.
The clashes have persisted despite the army’s presence in Manipur, a state of 3.7 million people tucked in the mountains on India’s border with Myanmar that is now divided in two ethnic zones.
The two warring factions have also formed armed militias, and isolated villages are still raked with gunfire. More than 60,000 people have fled to packed relief camps.
India’s Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani called the attack on the two women ‘condemnable and downright inhuman.’ She said Thursday that investigations were underway and that ‘no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.’
India’s main opposition Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, accused the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of ‘turning democracy and the rule of law into mobocracy.’
Kharge said Modi should speak about Manipur in Parliament, a demand that has been made by other opposition parties and rights activists.
‘India will never forgive your silence,’ he wrote on Twitter.
Last week the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Indian authorities to take action to stop the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities, especially Christians. India’s foreign ministry condemned the resolution, describing it as ‘interference’ in its internal affairs.
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