Manipur Strip-Parade Horror: MHA Transfers Case to CBI; Man Who Shot Video Caught

The ministry of home affairs transferred the Manipur video case to the CBI on Thursday and filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on the ethnic violence in the northeastern state that began on May 3.

The home ministry said the CBI probe into the incident, where two women were paraded naked by a mob and allegedly sexually assaulted in broad daylight on May 4, was already recommended by the Manipur government. Now, its order dated July 27 has transferred the case to the central agency.

The Centre has also made a request to the SC to transfer the trial of the incident outside of Manipur, seeking directions for fast-tracking it within six months of the chargesheet being filed. Seven main accused in the case have been arrested.

According to a top government source, the man who shot the strip-and-parade horror, which went viral recently, has been caught and his phone seized. The Centre is speaking to both the communities in Manipur and is hopeful to get them on the same table soon, the source said. Talks are at an advanced stage and the government is quite close to a joint meeting with both groups, the source said. Six rounds of talks have been held with each side separately.

72% EMPLOYEES BACK TO WORK, 82% ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOLS

The Centre says that violence is still on in Manipur, but on a much smaller scale. The source said that while 59 deaths had been reported between May 3 and 6 in Manipur, 28 were reported between May 24 and 31. A total of 147 deaths have been reported so far, while no death has been reported since July 18. A total of 361 relief camps are running, with close to 57,000 people staying there. The source said 72% of the employees were back to work and there is currently 82% attendance at schools in Manipur.

Nearly 36,000 central forces personnel have formed a buffer between the Meteis and Kukis and all these forces were moved within 30 hours after first reports of violence on May 3.

Sources also said there is no price hike situation in the state and adequate supplies of essentials have been restored. “No guilty person will be spared," the source said. He added that two other videos were being wrongly circulated as those from Manipur, while they actually pertained to Myanmar and dated a year ago. First Information Reports (FIR) regarding the circulation have been registered.

WHY WAS THE VIDEO NOT GIVEN TO ADMINISTRATION FOR SO LONG?

Regarding the Manipur video dated May 4 that came to light on the eve of Parliament session, the source said it prima facie seemed a conspiracy, as why was the video not handed over to the administration for so long. The arrest of the person who filmed it is now expected to reveal the chain of events till its leak.

COMPARISON TO 1993 INCIDENT

The source also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in constant touch with officials for updates on the Manipur situation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had camped in Manipur for three days and MoS Home Nityanand Rai had stayed in Manipur from May 25 to June 17.

Sources compared it to the violence in Manipur in 1993, which had lasted for almost eight months. It was the MoS Home of the Congress government who had then replied in Parliament and he had paid just a three-four-hour visit to Manipur, including spending two hours at the airport and an hour at the CM’s house.

THE TRIGGERS

The source said that two events had triggered the violence. One was a High Court order saying the state must take action by May 19 on inclusion of Meitis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list, which angered the Kukis. The other was a Manipur minister announcing revenue villages to be created for people coming from Myanmar to the hills, which angered the Meitis. Land allocation is a sensitive issue in Manipur.

On the way ahead, the source said biometric and thumb impressions of all people coming from Myanmar will be taken, so they are put on the negative list of voters and do not get citizenship. Also, the Centre will fast-track the border fencing project with Myanmar and a survey is being conducted for it.