Days after a horrific video emerged that showed two tribal women being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur, the state police has now apprehended a minor in the case. The police earlier arrested five main accused, stating that they were "making all-out effort to arrest the remaining culprits by conducting raids at many suspected hideouts."
"6 (six) including 1 (one) Juvenile Arrested/Apprehended:* As regard to the viral video of 02 (two) women on 4th May, 2023, another accused was arrested today. Altogether 06 (six) persons including 05 (five) main accused and 01 (one) juvenile have been arrested/apprehended in the case so far. The State Police is making all-out effort to arrest the remaining culprits by conducting raids at many suspected hideouts," Manipur police said in a tweet on Saturday.
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Manipur police arrest 6 accused
A 26-second video of the horrific incident surfaced on Wednesday. After massive outrage against the government over delay in taking action, Manipur police made the first arrest in connection with the incident the next day. A man who was part of the mob that paraded the women at B. Phainom village and was seen dragging one of them was nabbed. Three more arrests were made later that day. These four persons were remanded in 11-day police custody on Friday. One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-army man, who served as a subedar in the Assam Regiment and had even fought in the Kargil War.
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Meanwhile, the opposition and the BJP continued to trade bards over heinous crimes against women in opposition-ruled states such as Rajasthan, West Bengal and Bihar. Senior party leader and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur referred to some cases of crime against women registered in these states and slammed Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and the leaders of other opposition parties and accused them of remaining silent on cases of crimes against women in states ruled by non-BJP parties.
Protests in solidarity with Manipur
Writers, filmmakers, journalists, activists and politicians joined hands in staging a protest across the country on Friday against the naked parading of two women in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. Activists led by the All India Students' Association and the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan gathered at Jantar Mantar for the protest with placards and banners that bore messages such as "CM Biren Singh must resign" and "End violence in Manipur".
In Goa, a woman shaved her head as a mark of protest against atrocities on women in Manipur. Several tribal bodies protested in the Jharkhand capital demanding the imposition of President's Rule in strife-torn Manipur. Protestors raised slogans against the Centre and the Manipur government for allegedly failing to curb the violence which has claimed 160 lives so far and rendered thousands homeless.
