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Centre asks CBI to probe Manipur viral video case, to seek trial outside state: Reports
The BJP-led government at the Centre and in Manipur has been facing flak over the alleged inaction by police on the viral video case.
The Union home ministry has decided to refer the case of sexual assault on two women who were stripped and paraded by a mob to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), news agencies reported on Thursday. The government will also file an affidavit requesting the Supreme Court that the trial of the viral video case take place outside strife-torn Manipur.
The video of three women being stripped and paraded in Manipur surfaced on July 19, weeks after the incident took place, fanning fresh tensions in the state and leading to disruptions during Parliament’s monsoon session.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the case, one of the three women of a family was gang raped while a mob of 800-1000 men killed her brother and father on May 4.
The mobile phone from which the video was shot has been recovered and the person who shot the video has been arrested, reported ANI quoting people familiar with the matter. The report also suggests that the home ministry held several rounds of talks with members of the warring Kuki and Meitei communities in a bid to restore normalcy in the state.
The ethnic clashes first broke out on May 3 after members of the Kuki community took out a protest march against an order by the Manipur high court that recommended to the government that the Meiteis, the dominant community in Manipur with 53% of the population, be included in the scheduled tribe list. The nearly three-month-long ethnic violence in Manipur has claimed over 160 lives.
After the video of the sexual assault went viral, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke more than two months of public silence over deadly ethnic clashes, saying that the assaults of two women were unforgivable. He, however, did not refer directly to the larger violence. The Congress-led opposition grouping has been demanding a statement by the prime minister in the Parliament on the Manipur issue followed by a discussion in both Houses.
(This is breaking news…please check back for updates)
