On Wednesday, a disturbing video came out from Manipur’s Kangpokpi, portraying the troubling incident of two women being paraded naked and being subjected to molestation. This incident has exploded into widespread anger and prompted the opposition leaders to voice out about the safety of women and the effectiveness of the police in maintaining law and order.
One of the women in that video was married to an ex-army personnel, who had participated in the Kargil War and was Subedar of the Assam Regiment during his service in the Indian Army. While he was speaking about this incident, he said that,”He had served the country during the Kargil war and was also a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. He defended the country, but he felt sad that he couldn’t safeguard his home, wife, and his fellow villagers after his retirement.”
The retired army personnel expressed his emotions of “sadness” and “depression” during an interview with a Hindi news channel. He asked for action against the accused, stating, “Despite the presence of the police, no measures were taken against the perpetrators. I demand severe punishment for all those who are responsible for the humiliation of women and house burnings in the village”, he said.
The ex-army personnel told Times of India that, “I saw fighting in the Kargil war, but when I came back home after retiring, things were scarier than the battlefield,”. “Some people entered the village and started burning the houses in the village. Everyone from the village tried to run away to safeguard themselves. My wife got separated from me and she, along with 4 other villagers, hid in the forest. Some of the attackers, who were chasing pigs and poultry, had found them hiding in the forest,” he said.
The retired soldier and fellow villagers who had been captured by the attackers were left on a dirt road in the village. He said that he saw them taking his wife and few others to a different place. An old video dated May 4, followed by the eruption of violence in Manipur where the initial clashes occurred during a Tribal Solidarity March in the hill districts, a protest which had happened against the Meitei community’s push for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
A FIR complaint was filed on June 21 regarding the incident, which took place a month earlier. According to the FIR, 3 women were forced to undress, with one of them, a 21-year-old, being subjected to a gang rape. Unfortunately, her 19-year-old brother was killed by the mobs, when he tried to intervene. After the exposure of a video, four individuals were arrested on Thursday in relation to the case.
