India Police Under Scrutiny: The Ghastly Incident of Abuse Towards Women in India

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Demand for Justice and Accountability as Outrage Sweeps the Nation

Police in India’s Manipur state are facing intense scrutiny following a shocking incident where two women were paraded naked by a mob of men. The video of this horrific incident, which occurred on 4th May, went viral, sparking global outrage and demands for immediate action.

Although police eventually opened a case of sexual assault and arrested four men on Thursday, questions have arisen as to why it took so long for them to act. Interestingly, a police complaint had been filed just days after the incident, and many of the perpetrators were clearly identifiable in the footage.

One troubling detail from the written complaint, seen by the BBC, revealed that the mob allegedly took the survivors from police custody. Additionally, two of the survivors have accused the police of being present during the attack but failing to intervene.

While the police have not denied these accusations, some media reports have quoted unnamed police officials claiming they were “outnumbered” during the incident.

A video showing two women being paraded naked and assaulted in the Indian state of Manipur has shocked the nation and further inflamed tensions in an ethnic conflict that has left over 130 people dead.https://t.co/K07lfvnD00

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 20, 2023

A senior government official, speaking anonymously to the BBC, suggested that the delay in dealing with the case might be due to the “small size of Manipur police.” He also mentioned that the accused would have been arrested sooner if the government had received the video earlier.

The survivors, aged 21 and 42, were part of a group of five individuals, including an older woman and two men (the father and brother of the younger woman). They were fleeing violent ethnic clashes that have engulfed Manipur, which shares a border with Myanmar, for over two months. These clashes have resulted in the complete segregation of the majority of Meitei and Kuki tribal communities, with at least 130 people killed and 60,000 displaced. The survivors in the video belong to the Kuki community and were violently assaulted by men from the Meitei group.

The incident has sparked outrage and calls for accountability, as people demand justice for the survivors and question the police’s handling of the case. The shocking video has once again brought issues of women’s safety and the need for effective law enforcement to the forefront of public discourse.