Warning: Graphic content
In what is a disturbing revelation, a CBI chargesheet said a group of Manipur police personnel allegedly drove two women from the Kuki-Zomi community to a mob of Meiti rioters in Kangpokpi district last year when the state witnessed ethnic clashes..
On May 4, 2023, the two women, one of whom was the wife of a Kargil war veteran, were allegedly running away from a mob of around 1,000 Meiti rioters who were carrying AK rifles, SLR, INSAS and .303 rifles, according to PTI.
The two women were part of a group of 10 people who escaped to Haokhongching forest fearing the mob. The mob spotted the women and the victims got separated.
Two men and two women were taken by one group of rioters while another group took the third victim with a granddaughter and a third group took the village chief, another male and his two daughters, according to the news agency.
One of the victims who was paraded naked and raped was unwell and other family members had to carry her. Rioters from another village joined the mob and all of them began beating the victims.
Some members of the mob allegedly told the women to seek help from the police personnel who had parked their vehicle on the roadside, officials were quoted as saying.
The two women and a male victim pleaded with the police personnel to drive them to a safe location but driver of the police gypsy drove the vehicle towards the mob and stopped it in front of them.
The police personnel allegedly refused to stop the mob or help the victims and told them that "there was no key" for the vehicle.
The police personnel then allegedly fled the scene, leaving the victims at the mercy of the mob. The male victim in the vehicle, whose father was killed by the mob, was also bludgeoned to death by the crowd, said the chargesheet. Their bodies were reportedly thrown in the dry riverbed near the village.
The rioters then dragged the women out, stripped them and paraded them naked, as per the CBI chargesheet.
Meanwhile, a group who dragged the third victim towards the main road turned their attention towards the two other female victims assaulted by the other group. The third woman managed to escape with her granddaughter and was reunited with her famil the next day.
"Investigation has established that the accused individuals, part of ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis, conspired with a large group of unidentified miscreants from the Meitei community to execute a series of preplanned criminal acts, including violence, arson, sexual assault, and murder with a clear intent," the chargesheet read, "Their deliberate actions which specifically targeted victims from the tribal community, included threats, violence and various unlawful acts, aimed at promoting enmity between different groups."
The CBI has chargesheeted Huirem Herodas Meitei, Arun Kungongbam, Ningombam Tomba Singh, Yumlemban Jiban Singh, Pukrihongbam Surunjoy Meiti and Nameirakpam Kiran Meiti and a report has been filed against a juvenile.
-- with PTI inputs
