Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said on Thursday that none of the guilty in the May 4 sexual violence case will be spared adding that he got to know about the incident only after a video went viral on Wednesday. He said that the government will seek capital punishment for the accused even as police confirmed that four persons have been arrested in the case.
Mr. Singh told The Hindu that thousands of First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed since May 3 and the police will be investigating each case “one by one.” Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey met Director-General of Police Rajiv Singh and asked him to provide security to the victims, if required.
Till July 4, as many as 5,995 FIRs were registered in Manipur.
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Three women were stripped and paraded by a mob in violence-hit Manipur on May 4 in Thoubal, and one of them was raped, police said. Two male relatives of one of the women were killed by the mob who were armed with sophisticated weapons including AK-47 rifles.
Mr. Singh said that of the around 4,000 weapons missing from police armouries, around 1,.600 have been recovered so far.
In the ethnic violence that erupted between the Kuki and Meitei communities on May 3, more than 140 people have been killed. Thousands of weapons and lakhs of ammunition looted from police armouries are still with members of the public.
“The incident took place on May 4, I got to know about the incident after watching the viral video. We will do whatever is possible, we will not spare them,” Mr. Singh said.
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He said the police has arrested one of the suspects in the case and his interrogation is on. The accused has been identified as Huirem Herodas Singh (32), a resident of Pechi Awang Lekai. The Chief Minister said the accused works at a workshop.
Late on Thursday, Manipur Police said in a statement that three more accused were arrested in the case, taking the total number of arrests to four. “The State Police is making all out efforts to arrest the other culprits at the earliest. Raids are continuing,” it said.
“There are thousands of FIRs pertaining to missing persons, killings, abduction and arson, there are many similar FIRs. We have taken this incident very seriously and are exploring all legal possibilities,” the CM said.
He said the police would speak to the victims and will also investigate why there was a delay in registering the FIR and who recorded the video.
On May 18, a zero FIR (irresepctive of jurisdiction) was registered at Kangpokpi police station, which on June 21 was transferred to Thoubal, the place of incident. The women were fleeing their village and were under police protection when the mob of around 900-1,000 men snatched them from police custody and paraded them in Thoubal.
Follow live updates for the day on the Manipur sexual violence
Kuki MLAs’ statement
Ten Kuki-Zo legislators, including seven from the BJP released a statement on Thursday detailing at least four other incidents where women belonging to the community were either raped or murdered since May 3.
The statement said that two Kuki-Zo women from H. Khopibung were raped at Imphal Konung Mamang. A woman and her two daughters were murdered at their residence at Uripok in Imphal. A woman who was abducted from Checkon was raped twice in Langol and Ngarian Hill. Two nursing students in Porompat survived after they were physically assaulted by a mob. A woman suffering from mental illness was shot dead in Imphal. The legislators demanded that the cases be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It said that 114 Kuki-Zo members had been killed.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Singh tweeted, “My hearts go out to the two women who were subjected to a deeply disrespectful and inhumane act, as shown in the distressing video that surfaced yesterday. After taking a Suo-moto cognisance of the incident immediately after the video surfaced, the Manipur Police swung to action and made the first arrest this morning.”
He added, “A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. Let it be known, there is absolutely no place for such heinous acts in our society.”
