The social media footage of two Kuki women being paraded by a mob dates back to May 4, one day after the ongoing unrest in Manipur started. The incident took place in the village of B Phainom in the Kangpokpi district. According to the first information report (FIR) that was submitted on the event, one of the women was gang-raped.
The two women can be seen in the video being led into some fields by many men, who appear to be Meiteis. In the footage, at least some of the men can be seen man-handling women.
"When we resisted, they threatened to kill us if we didn't strip off our clothing", a survivor in her mid-forties said. She said she took off “every item of clothing” only in order to “protect herself”. All the while, the men allegedly slapped and punched her. She said she was not aware of what was happening to her 21-year-old neighbor, because she was some distance away.
One of the survivors said," After hearing that Meitei mobs were “burning homes” in a nearby village, her family and others escaped through a dirt lane, but a mob found them. Her neighbor and his son were taken a short distance away and killed. The mob then began to assault the women, asking them “to strip off clothes”.
Eyewitnesses to the incident claim that neither the state nor the federal government "had the intent or the ability to tackle the matter," and that "you tend to lose hope... The government has ordered Twitter and other social media sites to stop sharing a viral clip of the two Manipuri women being paraded.
Smriti Irani, the Union Minister for Women and Child Welfare, addressed the claimed video after speaking with the state's chief minister. She tweeted:
The horrific video of sexual assault of 2 women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM @NBirenSingh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway & assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) July 19, 2023
Bollywood celebrities have also expressed anger over the incident. Akshay Kumar in a tweet wrote, “Shaken, disgusted to see the video of violence against women in Manipur. I hope the culprits get such a harsh punishment that no one ever thinks of doing a horrifying thing like this again.”
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Shaken, disgusted to see the video of violence against women in Manipur. I hope the culprits get such a harsh punishment that no one ever thinks of doing a horrifying thing like this again.
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 20, 2023
Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri also tweeted:
MANIPUR:
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) July 20, 2023
Moplah, Direct Action Day, Noakhali, Bangladesh, Punjab, Kashmir, Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Bastar and now Manipur…
Every time our innocent mothers and sisters become the ultimate victims of inhuman, barbarian acts.
As a Bharatiya, as a man, as a human being, I am…
Singer Chinmayi Sripaada has also tweeted:
Politicians have made all of us hate each other so much that I wonder if there is any going back.
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) July 19, 2023
What’s happened in Manipur will happen anywhere. To any woman. Manipur may seem far away to many here; but just look around to see how much hate is filled in all of us.
One hate…