Women set fire to house of man accused of being in mob that paraded India tribals naked

Four men have been arrested so far

A group of women from a village in India’s strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur set fire to the house of a man who was allegedly part of a mob that paraded two women from a tribal community naked on the streets.

The state police arrested one of the suspected perpetrators, identified as Huirem Heradas Singh, aged 32, in Thoubal district. He is the primary suspect among the four individuals arrested so far.

“Be it Meitei or other communities, as a woman, outraging a woman’s dignity is not acceptable. We cannot allow such a person to be in our society. It’s a shame to the entire Meitei community,” said a Meira Paibi leader, according to the Indian Express.

Meira Paibis or “women torch bearers” are a senior women-led activist group with no rigid hierarchy, structure, or overt political leanings.

One more man has been apprehended by the police – taking the total number of people arrested to four – in connection with the appalling incident of two tribal women from Manipur being publicly paraded naked.

Chief minister N Biren Singh announced the arrest on Thursday evening as the nation reckoned with itself amidst widespread outrage.

The arrests came after a video of the incident involving the women went viral. In the video, the man, wearing a green T-shirt, was observed dragging one of the women.

The widely-circulated video prompted prime minister Narendra Modi to address the nation, marking some of his initial comments since the conflict began in Manipur.

He expressed that the incident was a disgrace to India and assured the public that those responsible would face the full force of the law.

“I assure the nation that the guilty will not escape justice. The heinous act against the daughters of Manipur is unforgivable,” he stated ahead of the commencement of the monsoon session of Indian parliament.

According to reports, the incident occurred on 4 May during the early stages of the ongoing violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

The conflict arose after some Kukis protested against demands from the predominantly Hindu Meitei community to be granted protected tribal status.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mr Biren Singh said: “After seeing the video, we took a decision to condemn the heinous crime and we term it a crime against humanity... Further investigation is going on and those who are involved will also be arrested and booked as per the law of the land.”

He further said that the state will seek the death penalty for the perpetrators.

According to one of the survivors, the incident occurred in Kangpokpi district, just one day after clashes broke out between the two communities.

It was reported that relatives of the women filed a police complaint, alleging that one of the women was gang-raped after the incident.

The police registered the formal complaint, but as of now, no further action has been taken in the matter.

On Friday, it was reported the house of the prime accused, Mr Heradas Singh was set on fire by the women of Petchi village who converged and headed to his house, according to Indian Express.

The National Commission for Women reportedly did not act upon the complaint filed on behalf of the women who were paraded naked in Manipur on 12 June, according to India Today.

India’s Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani called the incident “condemnable and downright inhuman." She said on Thursday that investigations were underway and that “no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice”.

Anusuiya Uikey, the Manipur governor said on Thursday: “I want to know why no action was taken on the complaint of the women? I called the DGP [Deputy General of Police] of my state today. Never in future, any person should have the courage to commit these types of crimes against women.”

India’s main opposition Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, accused the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of “turning democracy and the rule of law into mobocracy”.