Two women from the Kuki community, who were paraded naked by a mob in a distressing video, have said that the Manipur police were present at the scene of the crime and that they were "handed over to the mob by the police.”
The two women were reportedly escaping a raging mob as their village was being attacked and sought refuge in a nearby forest. They were later rescued by Thoubal police and escorted to the police station. The survivors told The Indian Express that they were intercepted by the mob on their way and alleged that later, the police themselves handed them over to the mob. One of the survivors said, "The police were there with the mob which was attacking our village. The police picked us up from near home, took us a little away from the village, and left us on the road with the mob. We were given to them by police."
Another survivor, whose father and brother were killed in the attack, recalled seeing four policemen in a car at the scene, merely observing the violence, Wire reports.
The horrifying assault, which was captured on video, showed an armed mob parading the two women near a paddy field. According to the police complaint filed on May 18, the younger woman was gang raped in broad daylight. The incident took place in the B Phainom village in the Kangpokpi district of Manipur on May 4. The video was put out on July 19, two months after the incident took place, and the delay is believed to be a result of an internet shutdown in Manipur.
The incident occurred in the aftermath of ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the Saikul police in the Kangpokpi district, charging "800 to 1000 unknown miscreants" with rape and murder. The FIR was later forwarded to Nangpok Sekmai police, and only one person has been arrested so far.