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BSF jawan booked for groping woman in Manipur
A BSF jawan has been booked and suspended after a purported video of him allegedly molesting a woman in violence-hit Manipur surfaced on social media, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan has been booked and suspended after a purported video of him allegedly molesting a woman in violence-hit Manipur surfaced on social media, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The accused, the officials added, was identified as head constable Satish Prasad from number 100 battalion. Prasad was part of the force’s contingent deployed to keep a check on law and order in the northeastern state that has been engulfed in ethnic violence since May 3.
In the purported video, the BSF jawan in uniform and carrying a rifle is seen following a woman inside a departmental store in Imphal and groping her. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The alleged assault took place on July 20 inside the store at a fuel station and was captured on CCTV, officials said.
A BSF officer, who did not wish to be identified, said the trooper was suspended as soon as the paramilitary force received a complaint and the allegation was checked.
“A Court of Inquiry proceeding has been initiated against the head constable who belongs to the number 100 battalion of the force that was sent to the state as an ad-hoc unit for security duties in the wake of the ethnic violence in the northeastern state,” the officer said, according to news agency PTI.
The BSF has zero tolerance for such acts and a fair investigation will be conducted in this incident, the officer added.
The incident comes as several cases of violence against women in the ethnic strife-hit state continue to emerge.
A horrific 30-second video of two women stripped and paraded naked by a group of men – who were identified in a first information report (FIR) as Meiteis – triggered nationwide outrage last week.
The incident took place in B Phainom village on May 4, a day after violence broke out in Manipur, but came to light after the videos went viral on July 19.
The men hooted and applauded as they groped the two victims. They also allegedly gang-raped the youngest of the two women, according to the FIR. Seven people have been arrested so far.
The video also evoked sharp responses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.
Just hours after the alleged assault on May 4, two more women were allegedly raped and murdered by a mob, according to another FIR. Not only did the two incidents happen on the same day within an hour of each other, the victims hailed from the same community (Kuki) as did the perpetrators (Meteis), the FIR said.
(With PTI inputs)
