More than two months after three women were stripped and paraded by a mob in violence-hit Manipur, police said they have registered a case of gang-rape and abduction, and would soon make arrests. It is among the first cases of sexual violence to be reported and which is being followed up with police action after the clashes in the State started on May 3.
A video clip of the incident surfaced on social media on Wednesday. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said in a statement that the ordeal suffered by the women is amplified by the perpetrators’ decision to share the video on social media revealing the identity of the victims. Two of the women are seen in the clip.
The incident is alleged to have taken place on May 4 at Nongpok Sekmai in Thoubal district when the three women were trying to escape a violent mob that had attacked their village in Kangpokpi district. A police source said that on May 18, a zero First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Kangpokpi police station, which has now been transferred to Thoubal, the place of incident. A zero FIR is registered irrespective of the jurisdiction or area power of the police.
