On day of Manipur horror, 2 more young women from Kangpokpi allegedly raped, murdered
Two young women from Manipur's Kangpokpi district were allegedly raped and murdered on the same day the two tribal women were paraded naked by a mob in the state.
FollowOn the same day two tribal women were paraded naked and allegedly gang-raped by a mob in Manipur, tragically two other young women from the Kangpokpi district in the state faced a brutal assault and murder amid a wave of ethnic strife that is yet to abate. The victims, aged 21 and 24, were employed at a car wash in the Konung Mamang area of Imphal East district, located around 40 kilometers from the site of the earlier incident. They were targeted by a large group of men, accompanied by some women, on May 4.
According to a male co-worker who witnessed the attack, the women in the mob encouraged the men to take the victims to a room and subject them to sexual assault. The male co-worker told Time of India that the assailants dragged the victims into the room, turned off the lights, and silenced them by gagging with clothes. The brutal assault continued for approximately one-and-a-half hours before the victims were dumped near a sawmill, close to the car wash. Their bodies bore signs of extreme violence, with torn clothes, chopped-off hair, and covered in blood.
Initially, the identities of the victims were not disclosed due to the fear of social stigma associated with sexual assault. However, the mother of one victim gathered the courage to file a Zero FIR at Saikul police station on May 16th, as reported by The Indian Express. The FIR described the gruesome murder after rape and torture and was later transferred to Porompat police station in Imphal East district.
Her daughter and the other woman were "brutally murdered after being raped and gruesomely tortured," according to the FIR, which was later transferred to Porompat police station in Imphal East district.
"Their dead bodies are not yet recovered, and their whereabouts are also not known till date," the police complaint read, putting the number of assailants at about 100-200. Another FIR was filed at the same police station regarding the alleged kidnapping, rape, and murder of the two women, whose horrifying ordeal was captured on camera and incited outrage around the country.
No arrests have been made in this case as per reports quoting police sources, and authorities are currently examining thousands of complaints related to various crimes, including killings, weapon looting, arson, and assaults on women.
The incidents have drawn the attention of the National Commission for Women, with two activists and the North American Manipur Tribal Association filing a complaint. These shocking tales of horror are part of a larger crisis in Manipur, where ethnic clashes between the Kuki tribal group and the Meitei, the ethnic majority, have claimed at least 125 lives and displaced over 40,000 people since May 3.
In response to the violence, the central government deployed thousands of paramilitary and army troops to the state, leading to a temporary subsiding of the trouble. However, sporadic violence and killings resumed shortly after, and the region remains tense. The disturbing incidents have triggered nationwide anger and raised serious concerns about the safety and security of women in the state.
