The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the Manipur government, demanding a response regarding a distressing incident where a woman claimed to have been stripped naked and paraded by a mob while the police failed to intervene. The notice was issued to the Biren Singh-led government in Manipur by a bench of the apex court, consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. The matter is scheduled for a hearing on 13 October, alongside the main case.
The petition, filed through advocate Amrita Sarkar, stated that women were also part of the mob that allegedly assaulted the survivor’s one-year-old child. It further mentioned that as a result of the violence, the woman sustained fractures in her hand and serious injuries to her head. The plea stated, “Petitioner No.2’s clothes were torn by the mob, and she was forced to parade until the Deputy Commissioner’s building in Imphal, where the police were present but failed to assist her.”
The petition also highlighted the inaction of the Manipur police in another case, where two people, including a woman, were beaten to death by a “mob of Meitei Community.” The plea added that despite the father of Petitioner No.1 filing an FIR regarding the incident on 20 May 2023, no action has been taken by the State of Manipur against the radicalized Meitei groups.
Furthermore, the plea stated that the petitioners, belonging to the Kuki community, were subjected to brutal torture and witnessed the killing of their family members. It mentioned that the survivors, after enduring numerous hardships, have reached Delhi for medical treatment and have been displaced from their hometown.
Previously, the court expressed its distress over the severe acts of sexual violence against women during ethnic violence in Manipur. The Supreme Court established a committee of three female judges to investigate violence against women in Manipur and appointed former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar to examine the CBI’s investigation into cases of sexual violence against women and children and other pending FIRs registered by the Manipur Police.
The two tribal women, who were seen in a viral video being paraded naked and allegedly gang-raped in Manipur on 3 May 2023, approached the Supreme Court, claiming that the Manipur Police colluded with the mob to enable the perpetration of sexual violence against them.
