Imphal: Police have arrested the fifth accused in connection with the video that surfaced on July 19 showing two women being paraded naked by a mob in strife-torn Manipur, police said.
The accused has been identified as a 19-year-old, police said.
The four who were earlier nabbed for disrobing and parading two women in Manipur on May 4 were remanded to 11-day police custody on Friday, police said.
The arrests were made on Thursday, a day after the 26-second video surfaced on July 19.
The house of the key accused in the case was torched on Thursday, hours after he was arrested by police.
According to police, he was seen prominently directing the mob at B. Phainom village of Kangpokpi district in the video.
One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-army man who had served in the Indian Army as a Subedar of the Assam Regiment and even fought in the Kargil War.
It may be recalled, that the complaint in connection with the viral video was lodged around a month ago June 21 at Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district.
The FIR filed in this case, a copy of which has been seen by PTI, revealed the tale of mayhem which occurred before the abduction and shameful behaviour with tribal women, a video of which has now formed the basis of raids and arrests of people connected with the incident.
The FIR claimed that one person was killed by the mob as he tried to protect his sister from being raped on May 4 before the two were paraded naked and molested in front of others.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
Manipur Naga groups demand immediate justice
Several Naga civil society organisations in Manipur, including the powerful United Naga Council, All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga People’s Front, have strongly condemned the inhuman act committed against the two women by a mob on May 4.
The UNC asked the Manipur government to take up the case in a fast-track court to deliver justice instantly.
“The government must initiate necessary steps for immediate booking of all the people involved in such dehumanizing crime,” the UNC said in a statement.
The UNC said the beastly act of sexually assaulting right on the nose of the law enforcing agency and unleashing a reign of terror has shattered the basic principles of democracy.
“The prestige and dignity of our mother, daughter and sister wrecked beyond redemption. Horrifying act and humiliation have replaced the beauty of womanhood. We can never allow the perpetrators involved in such a heinous crime to go scot-free,” said the UNC in a statement.
Meanwhile, the ANSAM termed the incident as an obnoxious act’ that has no place in the present society. “It is very unfortunate that the state of Manipur is witnessing such scandalous behaviour and the world will take note of the brutal incident,” stated the ANSAM.
The student body said the association denounces the barbaric act and urged the concerned authority to take necessary action and book all the perpetrators at the earliest. The student body said that befitting punishment should be awarded as per the law of the land.
Naga People’s Front Manipur state unit also condemned the despicable and unpardonable act of violence committed against the two women which was in total obliteration to the age-old tradition of paying the highest respect to mothers and sisters.
Meanwhile, protest rallies were held in Churachandpur on Saturday condemning the stripping naked of two women whose video has gone viral and demanding a separate administration for the Kuki areas.
The demand for some kind of separate administration by Kukis has however been opposed by many sections of Manipur’s polity.
