Manipur violence highlights: ‘Accused should be hanged,’ says Union minister Ramdas Athawale

Two persons, including a juvenile, were apprehended by Manipur Police on Saturday in connection with the May 4 parading of two women naked in Kangpokpi district of the state.

Till now, six persons, including one who was seen in a viral video dragging one of the women at B. Phainom village, have been nabbed.

Stating that violence should have never happened in Manipur, Union Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Saturday said an interfaith committee has been formed to bridge the "gap of mistrust".

Singh, whose house in Kongba Nandeibam in Manipur’s Imphal East district had been set on fire in mid-June during a clash, told PTI, "I always pray to god that let the darkness get over. An interfaith community has been constituted to bridge the gap of mistrust. The darkness should not recur again."

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday called for capital punishment to the accused arrested in connection with the horrific incident of May 4 in Kangpokpi district of the violence-hit Manipur where two women were paraded naked.

Addressing the media here, Athawale, who is Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said the central government was viewing the issues in Manipur seriously.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday termed the accounts of violence emerging from Manipur as "horrifying" and alleged that the ongoing strife in the northeastern state was caused by the "vicious agenda of fuelling communal tensions".

All secular and democratic forces should demand the restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur, he urged through his social media handles.

The Centre will present facts on the Manipur incident in the Parliament, Union Minister for Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju said here on Saturday and declined to speak on the viral video that showed two women being paraded in the north eastern state.

“Incidents happened in Rajasthan and West Bengal as well. So many people died during the elections...The situation in Manipur was difficult. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also camped there...The Manipur incident is very sad and PM Modi has also taken cognizance of it,” said BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

A bandh will be observed in the tribal belt of Gujarat on Sunday in protest against the ethnic violence and atrocities on women in Manipur, a tribal leader said.

The opposition Congress has decided to support the bandh in protest against the ruling BJP's "failure" to control the situation in the north-eastern state, a party spokesperson said on Saturday.

Trinamool Congress MLA and West Bengal Women and Child Welfare Development Minister, Shashi Panja, on Saturday voiced concern over the Manipur viral video, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear his stand on the incident.

The Centre and the Manipur government have come under fire from the Opposition over a viral video from Manipur, purportedly showing two women being paraded in the nude.

The Meghalaya State Commission for Women on Saturday urged the Centre and the Manipur government to take immediate action against those involved in the incident of two women being paraded naked in the ethnic strife-torn state.

The husband of one of two women paraded naked and molested by a mob in Manipur's Kangpokpi claimed that he had fought for the nation in the Kargil war and was also in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. But sadly, he could not save his wife from being humiliated on May 4.

Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of refraining from visiting violence-hit Manipur.

"For the first time, I have seen that a Prime Minister is visiting Karnataka, Rajasthan and other places for elections, but not Manipur. It is his government in Manipur, just imagine what would he have said if it was a Congress government there," CM Gehlot said while speaking to the media at his residence in Jaipur.

Slamming the BJP governments at the Centre as well as in Manipur over the ethnic violence in the state, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday said a movie titled ‘Manipur Files’ should be made, reported PTI. 

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, an editorial in Sena (UBT) organ ‘Saamana’ said the violence and atrocities in the north-eastern state are worse than Kashmir.

A video shot on May 4 surfaced on Wednesday, showing two women from one of the warring communities in Manipur being paraded naked by a few men from the other side, sparking national outrage.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, "PM Modi has taken the responsibility & assured that injustice against women will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the perpetrators...Whatever happened in Manpiur is unfortunate but what happened in West Bengal is even more unfortunate...The people who were raising their voices against Manipur violence, a similar incident happened in West Bengal. It is worrisome & shameful..." (ANI)

Several Naga civil society organisations in Manipur, including the powerful United Naga Council, All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga People’s Front, have strongly condemned the inhuman act committed against the two women by a mob on May 4. The UNC asked the Manipur government to take up the case in a fast-track court to deliver justice instantly, reported PTI. 

“The government must initiate necessary steps for immediate booking of all the people involved in such dehumanizing crime,” the UNC said in a statement. Referring to the viral video clip, the UNC said the incident was extremely deplorable.

The Manipur Police has arrested another accused in connection with a viral video that surfaced on Wednesday showing two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob in strife-torn Manipur. Read more

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday said the only way forward in Manipur is to sack Chief Minister N Biren Singh and impose President's rule in the state.

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state 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.

In a tweet, Sibal said, "The only way forward: Sack Biren Singh; Impose Art. 356; Apologise to the women of our country."

"Nothing has changed since Nirbhaya: Unnao, Hatharas, Kathua, Bilkis (convicts release). Beti bachao PM ji!" Sibal said.

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Friday responded to the opposition's calls for his resignation amid a nationwide outrage over the incident of atrocities on women in the northeastern state, saying that his main job is to “bring peace in the state.” Read more

On May 4, just an hour after a mob stripped and paraded three women and allegedly gang-raped one of them in B Phainom village in Manipur, two more women were allegedly raped and murdered by a mob in the state capital of Imphal, according to details of a first information report (FIR) seen by HT. Read more

Nongpong Sekmai police station, where two men were murdered and three women were assaulted, by a mob two months ago amid the ongoing Manipur violence, was in 2020 adjudged the best police station in the country. Read more

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has questioned the outrage limited to the northeast over a viral video, showing two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, and asked why similar “brutal crimes elsewhere" were ignored by “so called liberals”. Read more

It took more than a month for the FIR in connection with the sexual assault of two women in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on May 4 to be transferred to the relevant police station since the victims had reportedly fled their homes and had complained to the police in another district. Read more