One more arrested in Manipur viral video case

PTI, Imphal, Jul 25, 2023 : One more person has been arrested in connection with the stripping and parading of two women in Manipur, a video of which has attracted nationwide condemnation, police said on Tuesday.

The fresh arrest on Monday evening from Thoubal district took the total number of apprehensions in the case to seven, they said.

Police had earlier identified 14 people from the video among those who had participated in the disrobing of the two tribal women on May 4.

The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by a mob. A 26-second video of the incident had surfaced on July 19.

One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-Armyman, who served as a subedar in the Assam Regiment and had even fought in the Kargil War.

A complaint in connection with the video was lodged around a month ago – June 21 – at Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district.

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.