After a May 4 video appeared on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring factions being paraded naked by a few men from the opposing side, tension increased in the hills of Manipur, officials said here on Wednesday.
The video was making the rounds just before the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) announced a planned protest march on Thursday to draw attention to their predicament.
A representative of the ITLF said that the ‘despicable scene, which happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, shows men constantly molesting the helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors.’
‘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.’
The matter is being investigated by the police.
The spokesman issued a statement denouncing the ‘sickening act’ and demanding that the national and state governments, National Commission for Women, and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes take notice of the offence and prosecute those responsible.
On Thursday, there is a protest march planned in Churchandpur, and the Kuki-Zo tribal people intend to bring up this matter as well.
Since May 3, there have been racial conflicts in the state of Manipur between the Kukis who live in the hills and the majority Meiteis who live in the Imphal valley. The violence has already claimed the lives of almost 160 people.
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