Manipur women paraded naked: Police arrests main accused with help of May 4 video

The Manipur Police has arrested one Heradas, from Thoubal district, who is the main accused in the case of the horrifying viral video from May 4. The two-month-old video showed two women being paraded naked by a crowd of men who were seen equipped with sophisticated weapons. The accused was arrested with the help of the video that has since gone viral and sparked outrage online. The video showed the main accused in a green shirt. 

The police, meanwhile, in a tweet had earlier said that cases of abduction, gangrape and murder were registered at the Nongpok Sekmai PS (Thoubal District) and that the investigation has started against unknown armed miscreants. 

According to a report in India Today, 12 teams were formed to arrest the accused. 

As per the complaint, around 800-1,000 people carrying sophisticated weapons entered B Phainom village and vandalised, looted and burnt down houses on the day of the incident. The miscreants were suspected to be members of Meitei organisations. 

Five villagers, including two men and three women, fled to the forest, from where they were rescued by the Nongpok Sekmai police team. However, the mob later abducted them and killed one of the men. The women were forced to take their clothes off.

One of the women, aged 19, was gang-raped. Her brother – the survivor among the two men – tried to intervene but was killed. 

The video has been widely condemned by people from all quarters. 

A spokesperson for the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) said, "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 forum demanded the Centre and the state governments, National Commission for Women and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to take cognisance of the offence and bring the culprits before the law. 

Manipur state has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May 3 between the majority Meiteis, concentrated in Imphal valley, and the Kukis, occupying the hills.

(With inputs from Anupam Mishra)

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