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‘Shocking…': TMC's Saket Gokhale reacts after freedom fighter's wife, 80, 'burnt alive' in Manipur
Saket Gokhale hit out at BJP and Centre while reacting to media reports claiming that the 80-year-old wife of a freedom fighter was killed in Manipur.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Centre while reacting to media reports claiming that the 80-year-old wife of a freedom fighter was locked inside her house and set on fire by an armed group in ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
“In yet another shocking incident, an 80-year-old woman was burnt alive in her house by a mob in Manipur. BJP & Modi Govt, instead of taking urgent action, are indulged in whataboutery trying to justify the carnage & ethnic cleansing going on in Manipur by manufacturing fake news & flagging one-off incidents in Opposition states,” Gokhale tweeted.
The TMC leader alleged that under chief minister N Biren Singh, the “BJP has committed unspeakable atrocities against women & tribals”.
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He also alleged that while the Modi government immediately deploys central agencies to investigate cases in Opposition states, “no Central Agency is even involved in Manipur because these agencies are now tools for political vendetta rather than bringing perpetrators to justice”.
Gokhale reacted to an incident in Kakching district's Serou village that took place on May 28. The 80-year-old old woman's husband, S Churachand Singh, was a freedom fighter who was honoured by former president APJ Abdul Kalam, some reports claimed.
The Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC) reportedly drew attention to Sorokhaibam Ibetombi's death. She was found burnt inside her house, after the perpetrators locked all the doors from outside.
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The Manipur government or the state police is yet to make a statement on the incident.
Tension further mounted in Manipur on Wednesday after a May 4 video surfaced online showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
