A mob has sexually assaulted two women and forced them to walk naked down a street in the eastern Indian state of Manipur, where there is simmering ethnic conflict. The case has sparked widespread outrage nationwide after footage of the attack was released, both against the perpetrators and the authorities for their apparent inaction in seeking justice.
The Police, who have indicated that the incident dates back to the month of May, have indicated that it was not until earlier this week that the videos of what happened went viral, which has caused a wave of reactions.
Anger has taken to the streets in the form of demonstrations and other actions. Like the one carried out by a group of women in the state of Manipur, who attacked the house of the main suspect, the Police reported. The person allegedly dragged two tribal women into the streets and then incited a mob to rape and parade them naked, amid ethnic clashes raging in the state.
The main suspect, a resident of the same state, was arrested on Thursday hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the alleged sexual assault as "shameful" and vowed to crack down. "I assure the nation that the law will take effect in full force. What has happened to these two Manipur women cannot be forgotten," he said on Thursday, two months after the attack. Three others were also arrested and a police official said they were tracking at least 30 others involved in the crime.
"Local women threw stones and burned some parts of the house belonging to the main defendant in a village," reported Hemant Pandey, a senior police officer in the capital city Imphal. "We ask the women to protest peacefully because there is intense unrest. We understand their anger," he added.
The Supreme Court has also expressed its concern in this regard and has asked the Government to take action. For now, the authorities have asked all social networks to remove the video from their platforms.
Human rights groups have called protests in various parts of India demanding justice and speedy investigations into the latest incident that raises questions about the safety of women in a country with a tragic tradition of brutal assaults and gang rapes. The sexual assault was denounced by the victims in May after the start of the ethnic clash in Manipur.
"We want to know why the police did not take quick action when they knew that women were raped and paraded naked in Manipur," said Radhika Burman, a student from the eastern city of Kolkata who will lead a public demonstration on Thursday. Modi, who had not made any public comment on the problems in a state ruled by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), spoke a day after the aforementioned recordings went viral.
Manipur is engulfed in a rising wave of violence between tribal groups, which has left 130 dead and more than 60,000 displaced since May. The fighting was sparked by a court order directing the government to consider extending the special benefits enjoyed by the Kuki tribal people to the majority Meitei population as well. The Forum of Indigenous Tribal Leaders has warned in a statement of the "atrocities" committed against women, especially in the Kangpokpi district.
