Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the video of two women being forced to walk naked by a group of men in the northeastern state of Manipur.
Editor’s note: This report includes details of sexual assault and violence.
CNN
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A graphic video showing two women being forced by a female mob to walk naked in India’s northeastern state of Manipur has sparked outrage after it surfaced on social media and prompted the country’s leader Narendra Modi to break his silence on the month-long sectarian conflict that has torn the state apart.
The viral video depicts an incident from May 4, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) but police only made arrests once the footage went online this week.
The Manipur Police described the incident on Twitter as “a case of abduction, gang rape and murder” on Wednesday.
Officials said Thursday that four people had been arrested and police raids were ongoing. Authorities are questioning more than three dozen men in connection with the apparent sexual assault, Reuters reported.
The video, seen by CNN, shows two terrified women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of clothed men. The victims appear to have been groped and sexually assaulted while surrounded by a mob of men, many brandishing long sticks or sticks as weapons.
The horrific footage has emerged amid ongoing ethnic violence in India’s northeastern state.
Modi addressed the situation in the state for the first time on Thursday, saying: “My heart is filled with sadness and anger. The incident in Manipur is shameful for any civil society.
“What happened to the daughters of Manipur is completely unforgivable,” Modi continued, adding “the law will go through with all its might.”
Biju Boro/AFP via Getty Images
Protesters hold placards during a demonstration on sexual violence against women in Manipur, in Guwahati on Thursday. CNN has blurred out a portion of this photo that shows graphic imagery.
The Upper House of Parliament was adjourned for reconvening minutes after opposition MPs raised an outcry for refusing to discuss the Manipur issue.
The ITLF issued a statement on Wednesday, writing: “A video that has gone viral today shows a large Meitei mob parading two Kuki-Zo tribal women naked to a rice field to be gang-raped.”
The statement went on to say that the “shameful incident” took place in B. Phainom village in Kangpokpi district and “showed men regularly abusing helpless women, crying and pleading with their captors.”
In recent months, Manipur has been grappling with violence. Clashes erupted in the state capital Imphal on May 3 after thousands of students, mostly from the Kuki tribe, took part in a rally against the majority Meitei ethnic community, which petitioned for special tribal status. Among other things, tribal status enables the Meitei to purchase land and provides many opportunities for government jobs.
More than 100 people have been killed and tens of thousands more displaced since then.
The May 4 incident occurred after the women’s village was set on fire and two men were beaten to death, according to the ITLF.
India’s main opposition Congress party has been a vocal critic of Modi’s handling of the issue, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeting on Thursday, before the opening of Parliament: “The people have died in Manipur. The Modi Govt and the BJP have turned democracy and the rule of law into Mobocracy by destroying the state’s fragile social fabric.
Tagging Modi, his tweet continued: “India will never forgive your silence. If there is any conscience or an iota of shame left in your government, then you should speak about Manipur in Parliament and tell the nation what is happening, without blaming others for your double incompetence – at the Center and at the State.”
Soon after, the state’s chief minister, N. Biren Singh, tweeted that the arrest had been made.
“After a Suo-moto came to know about the incident after the video, the Manipur Police swung into action and made the first arrest this morning,” he wrote. Suo-moto recognition is a procedure in Indian law that allows the court to act on a case without a complaint being filed.
He added that “a thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure that strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of the death penalty. Be aware, there is no place for such evil acts in our society.”
Manipur police later said it had made three more arrests of people accused “of the heinous crime of kidnapping and gang rape.”
The Indian government has issued an order to Twitter and other social media platforms, ordering them not to share the viral video, a source familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday, adding that “the social media platforms must comply with Indian laws as the matter is currently under investigation.”