A video showing two women being paraded naked through the streets in Manipur, India, has sparked outrage as violent ethno-religious clashes continue in the region.
Deadly riots have broken out between the Meitei, who are mostly Hindu, and the Kuki-Zo, who are mostly Christian, in northeast India. Since May, 140 have been killed and tens of thousands displaced. The conflict originated over a proposal to reserve government jobs and education to Menteis, who say they are marginalized.
The two women belong to the tribe of Kuki-Zo, according to Al Jazeera. Video shows them being paraded through the street into an empty field as a large group of men touch and grope them. One woman was reportedly gang raped. (RELATED: Over 60 Christian Dissidents Detained In Thailand Facing Imprisonment, Torture If Deported To China)
The video emerged more than two months the incident occurred on May 4, when the Manipur government issued a 73-day internet ban in the state.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement regarding the incident that, “Any civil society should be ashamed by it.”
Present-day India.The woman being assaulted in this video is a Christian from #Manipur, #India, where churches have been violently attacked.U won’t find conservatives speak against this, as they are too busy lifting #Modi‘s testicles & praising him for his mistreatment of Muslims pic.twitter.com/FxBwauEdze
— Mani (@thelastemperorx) July 19, 2023
“Thanks to the video, we are trying to identify the miscreants,” Sachidananda Soibam, the superintendent of police in Manipur’s Thoubal district, told Al Jazeera.
Four arrests have been carried out since the video circulated, according to CNN, and police raids are ongoing.
“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,” the state’s Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said, according to the outlet.
“In a constitutional democracy, it is unacceptable,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.