New Delhi. In Manipur, two women from the Kuki-Zomi community were allegedly handed over by the policemen to the mob, which stripped them and paraded them around. This information has been given in the charge sheet of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI chargesheet states that these women had sought shelter in the government vehicle (Gypsy) of the policemen in Kangpokpi district, but they handed over both the women to a mob of about 1000 Meitei rioters. It is said that after this both the women were stripped and paraded around. This incident took place during caste violence in the state.
Giving details of the charge sheet, officials said one of the victim women was the wife of a soldier who served in the Kargil war. Officials said the women had asked the policemen to take them to a safe place in the vehicle, but the policemen allegedly told them that they did not have the keys to the vehicle and did not offer any help.
In July, almost two months after the May 4 incident last year in Manipur, a video was circulated on social media in which two women could be seen surrounded by a crowd of men and being paraded naked. The CBI filed the charge sheet against six accused before the Special Judge, CBI court in Guwahati on October 16 last year.
It said that both the women were running away to escape the crowd of about 900-1,000 people armed with sophisticated weapons like AK rifles, SLRs, INSAS and .303 rifles. It said a mob had forcefully entered his village in Kangpokpi district, about 68 km south of Saikul police station.
The women ran into the forest with other victims to escape the mob, but the rioters spotted them. Officials said that some people in the crowd asked the women to go to the police vehicle parked on the roadside to seek help. Both the women managed to enter the police vehicle in which two policemen and the driver were already seated, while three-four policemen were outside the vehicle.
One of the male victims also managed to get inside the vehicle and begged the driver to take them to safety, but was also told there were no keys. The husband of one of the victims had served in the Indian Army as a Subedar of the Assam Regiment. CBI alleges that the police did not even help in saving the father of the person sitting in the vehicle from the mob attack.
Later, the driver took the vehicle and stopped it in front of a crowd of about 1,000 people. The victims appealed to the policemen to take them to safety, but they did not provide any help. The investigating agency said that the mob had already killed the father of the man who was sitting in the car with two women.
The policemen handed over the victims to the violent mob and left the place. The charge sheet states that the rioters pulled the women outside and paraded them naked before sexually assaulting them. The CBI has filed a chargesheet against Huirem Herodas Meiti and five others and has also filed a report against a juvenile. Manipur Police had arrested Herodas in July.
The CBI has said that the accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections related to gang rape, murder, outraging the modesty of a woman and criminal conspiracy.
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Tags: CBI, Manipur
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 30, 2024, 21:49 IST