A shocking video of two Kuki tribal women being paraded naked and molested in B Phainom village, Kangpokpi district, Manipur, has triggered massive outrage on social media and drawn widespread condemnation from across the nation.
According to a report by Scroll.in, the incident took place on May 4, and the distressing video shows several men, allegedly belonging to the Meitei group, walking alongside the helpless women as they are led into nearby fields. The perpetrators in the video can be seen groping the women, adding to the barbarity of the act.
Tragically, one of the women was reportedly subjected to a horrifying gang-rape during the ordeal, as mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) filed in connection with the incident, as reported by The Wire.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) vehemently condemned the incident, stating that the mob first murdered two men in B Phainom village, one middle-aged and one teenager, before turning their violence against the two women from the Kuki-Zo tribe. The women were subjected to constant molestation while they cried and pleaded with their captors.
In a press release issued by the ITLF, the organization expressed its shock and dismay at the incident, highlighting the added cruelty of the perpetrators sharing the video on social media, which exposed the identity of the victims.
“The horrifying ordeal suffered by these innocent women is amplified by the perpetrators’ decision to share the video, which shows the identity of the victims, on social media,” an ITLF
The disturbing video garnered thousands of views and sparked a wave of public outcry. The incident came to light on the eve of a planned protest march organized by the ITLF, aiming to raise awareness about the plight of indigenous tribal communities.
As per the Scroll.in report, the relatives of the victims filed a police complaint, revealing that one of the women was gang-raped during the incident. The police registered a zero FIR at the Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district on May 18. A zero FIR allows any police station to receive and register a complaint before forwarding it to the appropriate jurisdiction where the crime occurred.
The Saikul police station official disclosed that charges of rape and murder, among others, have been pressed against “unknown miscreants” numbering “800-1,000”.
