Outrage in India over video of Manipur women paraded naked, raped

A viral video from the Indian state of Manipur, showing dozens of men parading and assaulting two women who have been stripped naked, has triggered outrage in the country.

The 26-second video shows the group of men – some appearing to be as young as 15 – groping and sexually attacking the women belonging to the ethnic Kuki-Zo tribe, and escorting them towards an empty field.At least one of the women, aged 21, was gang raped, according to the first information report (FIR) filed by the survivors. The police complaint says the other woman was 42.

The incident happened on May 4, a day after deadly ethnic riots broke out between the mainly Hindu Meitei and predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo tribes in the remote state in India’s northeast, governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Meiteis, who constitute more than half of Manipur’s 3.5 million population, mainly live in capital Imphal and the prosperous valley around it, while the Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes live in the surrounding hill districts.

At least 130 people – most of them Kuki-Zo – have been killed and more than 50,000 displaced since clashes between the two communities broke out over a proposal to extend reservation in government jobs and education to the Meiteis.

Video viral two months after assault
The video emerged after more than two months due to an internet ban in Manipur since May 3 – a move that has been widely criticised by rights activists in India.Breaking his two-month silence on the Manipur violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the incident had filled his heart with grief and anger.

“Any civil society should be ashamed by it,” he said ahead of a parliament session where the opposition members demanded a statement from Modi on Manipur.

Also on Thursday, India’s Supreme Court said it was deeply disturbed by the viral video and asked the state and federal governments to inform the top court of the steps taken to catch the perpetrators.

“In a constitutional democracy, it is unacceptable,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.Sachidananda Soibam, the superintendent of police in Manipur’s Thoubal district where the FIR over the May 4 incident was registered, told Al Jazeera they received the viral video only on Wednesday.

“Thanks to the video, we are trying to identify the miscreants,” he said.On Thursday, police arrested a 32-year-old Meitei man, identified as Khuirem Herodas, as one of the suspects behind the assault on the two women.

“A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment,” the state’s chief minister N Biren Singh, who is a Meitei, tweeted after the arrest.