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Imphal: During last year’s caste violence in Manipur, (Manipur ) the north-eastern state of the country, two women were paraded naked. When the video of this incident went viral, the government handed over the investigation of the case to CBI. Now CBI has filed a charge sheet in the court in this case. It has been claimed in the charge sheet that Manipur Police officers had brought these women amidst a crowd of 1000 people.
CBI had filed the charge sheet in this case in October last year. But this chargesheet has come into discussion two days before the completion of one year of Manipur violence on 3rd May. On October 16 last year, CBI had filed a charge sheet against 6 accused in this case before the Special CBI Judge based in Guwahati. CBI said that these women had sought shelter in the police vehicle. But, the police left both the women among the crowd. After this, women were first sexually harassed. Then he was taken around the village without clothes.
In the charge sheet, the central agency has also said that the mob had attacked a third woman of the same family. An attempt was made to strip her, but she escaped. The third woman managed to escape from the clutches of the mob. The investigating agency said in the charge sheet that the three women had sought help from the police personnel present at the spot, but they were left at the mercy of the mob.
The crowd was armed with heavy weapons
According to a report by news agency PTI, one of the victimized women was the wife of a soldier who had fought in the Kargil war. He had requested the police personnel to take him to a safe place. The policemen told the women that they did not have the keys to the car. The police did not provide any help to the women.
CBI said in its charge sheet that the women were trying to escape from the clutches of a mob of 900 to 1000 people. Most of the people in the crowd also had AK rifles, SLR, INSAS and .303 rifles. The mob had allegedly vandalized most of the houses in Kangpokpi district and set them on fire.
Women had entered the police van for help
The charge sheet said that the mob had forcefully entered the women’s house in Kangpokpi district, about 68 km south of Saikul police station. The women ran into the forest with other victims to escape the mob, but the rioters saw them. Officials said that some people in the crowd asked the women to go to the police car parked on the roadside to seek help. Both the women managed to enter the police van. Two policemen and the driver were already sitting in it. While three-four policemen were standing outside the car.
A male who was among the victims also managed to get inside the vehicle. He kept pleading the driver to take them to a safe place, but he was also told that the ‘key’ was not there. The husband of one of the victims had served in the Indian Army as a Subedar of the Assam Regiment. CBI alleges that the police did not even help in saving the father of the person sitting in the vehicle from the mob attack.
The driver stopped the car in front of the crowd
Later, the driver of the police van stopped the vehicle in front of a crowd of about 1,000 people. The policemen handed over the victims to the violent mob and left from there. The charge sheet states that the rioters pulled the women out and paraded them naked before sexually assaulting them.
Names of these accused in the charge sheet
CBI has filed charge sheet against Huirem Herodas Meitei and 5 others. A report has also been filed against a teenager. Manipur Police had arrested Herodas in July. CBI has said that the accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include sections related to gang rape, murder, insulting the dignity of a woman and criminal conspiracy.
