Amidst a wave of ethnic violence that refuses to abate, two young women from Manipur’s Kangpokpi district were brutally assaulted and murdered on May 4, the same day when two tribal women were subjected to a horrific incident of being stripped, paraded, and allegedly gang-raped by a mob in another part of Manipur, sparking massive outrage.
According to media reprots quoting a witness, the victims, aged 21 and 24, were employed at a car wash in the Konung Mamang area of Imphal East district, approximately 40 kilometers away from the site of the other incident.
On that fateful day, they fell victim to a mob attack. Another witness recounted that the two women at the car wash were assaulted by a large group of men, accompanied by some women. A male co-worker who witnessed the incident revealed that the women in the mob encouraged the men to take the victims inside a room and subject them to sexual assault.
In a horrifying sequence of events, the victims were forcibly taken into the room, the lights were turned off, and they were gagged with clothes to stifle their screams.
The ordeal lasted for an agonizing one-and-a-half hours before the victims were dragged outside and left near a sawmill in the vicinity. Their clothes were torn, their hair was brutally chopped off, and their bodies were left covered in blood. Initially, the identities of the victims were not disclosed due to the fear of stigma associated with such atrocities.
However, the mother of one of the victims showed immense courage and filed a Zero FIR at Saikul police station on May 16, stating that her daughter and the other woman were “brutally murdered after being raped and gruesomely tortured.” The FIR was subsequently transferred to Porompat police station in Imphal East district.
As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with this appalling case, as confirmed by police sources. The Manipur police are diligently examining numerous complaints pertaining to various crimes, including weapon looting, arson, killings, and assaults on women.
These deeply disturbing incidents have sparked nationwide anger and have been brought to the attention of the National Commission for Women through a complaint filed by two activists and the North American Manipur Tribal Association. Manipur has been gripped by violence since May 3, resulting in at least 125 fatalities and over 40,000 people being displaced.