Manipur women paraded naked: Centre orders Twitter, other platforms not to share video

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, July 20, 2023: The Centre has issued an order to Twitter and other social media platforms, instructing them not to share the video of two women who were paraded naked that surfaced on the internet on Wednesday.

The government, in its instructions, held that it was imperative to adhere to Indian laws and that the matter was under investigation.

 

A video showing two women, hailing from the Kuki-Zomi community, being paraded naked by a mob led by men in violence-hit Manipur. The video is said to be two-month-old and it was confirmed late Tuesday that the victims were first gang-raped by men and later, stripped and forced to be strolled publicly later. A police official stated that the nerve-wracking incident is from May 4.

One of the victims is a 19-year-old and her brother was killed after he attempted to intervene.

While the Opposition has raised sharp reactions to the sexual assault, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh criticised the incident and termed it a "crime against humanity".

Reacting to the video, Union Minister Smriti Irani took to Twitter to call the incident "condemnable and downright inhuman". Smriti Irani also said she dialed Chief Minister Biren Singh who assured her that "no effort will be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice".

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As per the authorities, one of the main accused in the Manipuri women video case has been arrested.

The accused, identified as Khuyrum Heradas, was arrested this morning in Thoubal district. As per officials, he is seen wearing a green shirt in the video that surfaced on social media. He has been identified from the video.

A complaint filed with the police mentions May 4 as the date of the incident in the Kangpokpi district. However, the FIR was registered in Thoubal district on June 21. A case of abduction, gang rape and murder was lodged against unknown people.

Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 during a ’Tribal Solidarity March’, that was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

"All three women were physically forced to remove their clothes and were stripped naked in front of the mob," the FIR states.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale wrote to the Chief Secretary of Manipur asking "why the perpetrators have not been arrested even two and a half months after the incident and the filing of an FIR".

Courtesy: India Today