'Wanted to end my life': Survivor of another Manipur gang-rape horror narrates ordeal amid ethnic clashes

In early May, another distressing case of sexual assault has emerged amidst the ethnic clashes in Manipur. The survivor, who had been residing in a relief camp, has bravely filed a police report, shedding light on a harrowing incident. The authorities are actively encouraging women in Manipur to come forward and share their experiences, resulting in a growing number of victims sharing their stories of brutality.

The most recent incident involves a 37-year-old woman from Manipur's Churachandpur district. She alleges that on May 3, the day violence erupted in the district following a rally by the Kukis, she was caught by a group of men. This happened while she was trying to escape her burning house with her two sons, niece, and sister-in-law. Tragically, she was gang-raped by the assailants. The rally was in response to the Meiteis' demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, which had sparked tensions between the hill-majority Kukis and valley-majority Meiteis.

The survivor's decision to approach the police was driven by reports of other women sharing their own horrifying experiences. She acknowledged that she had initially refrained from disclosing the incident to protect her family's honor and dignity, as well as to avoid social ostracism. She candidly admitted that the delay in reporting was due to the burden of social stigma, and she even contemplated self-harm.

"I did not disclose the incident to save myself and my family's honour, dignity and to save ourselves from social ostracism. The delay in filing this complaint is due to social stigma... I even wanted to end myself," the woman said in her statement attached with the 'zero FIR' filed with Bishnupur police station on Wednesday.

She is currently residing in a relief camp for internally displaced people. The case has been filed under Sections 376D, 354, 120B, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the initial information provided in the FIR, the woman, her two kids, niece, and sister-in-law reportedly fled as quickly as they could after miscreants started setting fire to their homes and those of their neighbours at 6.30 p.m. on May 3.

"I carried my niece on my back and also held my two sons and started running from the spot along with my sister-in-law. She was also carrying a baby on her back and running ahead of me. Then I stumbled and fell down on the road and unable to get up... my sister-in-law came back running towards me and picked up my niece from my back and ran along with my two sons as I insisted," the woman said in the 'zero FIR' filed in Bishnupur, 35 km from her now-destroyed house in Churachandpur.

"When I finally managed to get up, some five-six... miscreants got hold of me... They started verbally abusing and assaulting me. Despite my resistance, I was forcefully pinned down. After this, the men started sexually assaulting me..." the woman said in the FIR.

A 'zero FIR,' which can be filed at any police station regardless of jurisdiction, was lodged at the Bishnupur police station. This type of FIR is then forwarded to the appropriate jurisdiction for investigation, in this case, the Churachandpur police station. The survivor's health deteriorated significantly, and she even contemplated suicide. While she attempted to seek medical attention at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, she was unable to convey her distress and returned without seeing a doctor.

Eventually, she sought treatment and counseling at JNIMS Hospital in Imphal, which contributed to her decision to report the case. Fueled by the realization of the trauma she had endured due to the heinous crimes committed against her, she emphasized the importance of holding the culprits accountable for their actions.

"... I started realising the trauma and sufferings that I went through because of their heinous crimes committed against me without any fault of mine... Adequate punishment should be given to the gang of culprits who abused, sexually and physically assaulted me," the woman said.

In recent times, Manipur witnessed the horrifying incident of two women being publicly humiliated and paraded naked by a group of men, a video of which circulated widely on social media. The outrage prompted swift action, leading to the arrest of the perpetrators seen in the video.

As per information shared by Manipur Police, an alarming number of over 6,500 police cases were filed during the three-month period from May 3 to July 30. The majority of these cases were related to "arson, looting, and destruction of house property." 

These cases in thousands, inflated by multiple zero FIRs over the same cases, are arson (4,454), looting (4,148), destruction of house property (4,694), and damage to public property (584).

These thousands of crimes include arson (4,454), looting (4,148), destruction of house property (4,694), and damage to public property (584), which are all exaggerated by several zero FIRs filed over the same cases.

These statistics show the enormous scope of property damage in Manipur during the height of the ethnic unrest.

• Manipur
• Imphal
• Viral Video