Highlights: Video shows two women forced to parade naked by a hundred armed men, and one of whom will then be raped. In this northeastern Indian state, inter-ethnic violence has left more than 140 people dead over the past two and a half months. Four of the men identified in the video were arrested on Thursday. The head of India's ruling BJP-led regional government says there are thousands of similar complaints in Manipur. He is now playing one-upmanship, evoking the death penalty for these accused.

India is still in shock from a video released Wednesday on social networks showing two women forced to parade naked by a hundred armed men, and one of whom will then be raped...

attacked in public in Manipur: Indian opposition calls for accountability

India is still reeling from a video posted Wednesday on social media showing two women forced to parade naked by a hundred armed men, one of whom will then be gang-raped in Manipur. In this northeastern Indian state, inter-ethnic violence has left more than 140 people dead over the past two and a half months. The regional government announced the arrest of four people. But the federal opposition is demanding accountability.

Students and activists take part in a protest against violence in Manipur state on July 21, 2023. © Altaf Qadri / AP

Text by: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis

The scene broadcast on social media on Wednesday took place in Manipur. Faced with the national commotion caused by this video showing two women forced to parade naked by a hundred armed men, and one of whom will then be raped in a group, the regional police of Manipur had to react quickly. Four of the men identified in the video were arrested on Thursday. But why two months after the complaint was filed?

The head of India's ruling BJP-led regional government says there are thousands of similar complaints in Manipur: it was the video that helped them identify the suspects. He is now playing one-upmanship, evoking the death penalty for these accused of harassment and gang rape. The political opposition at the federal level is not satisfied with this sudden reaction. She recalls that Manipur has been burning since early May, that more than 140 people have died, and that the BJP, the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which rules the region, is unable to extinguish the flames.

Houses of suspects burned

Federal ministers tweet as soon as the earth shakes in Pakistan, but when Manipur burns, they don't care. Is this the new India that the prime minister is promoting at home and abroad? " said Raghav Chadha, a federal senator from the Aam Admi Party. In the lower house, MPs shouted for the Prime Minister to come and explain what is being done to calm the situation in Manipur. The Minister of Defence came to speak, but the discussion could not take place due to a lack of calm in the Assembly.

Meanwhile, angry women set fire to the homes of two men who were charged, as well as two other suspects. On Thursday, the day the four suspects were arrested, a group of activists threw haystacks at the house of one of the four men in Imphal and set it on fire. As the fire raged, the women, members of the Meiteis community, like the four accused, attacked the walls and roof of the house with sticks. On Friday, another group of women destroyed the home of a second suspect, reducing it to ashes.

" READ ALSO India in shock after the video of two assaulted in public in Manipur

attacked in public in Manipur: Indian opposition calls for accountability

attacked in public in Manipur: Indian opposition calls for accountability

Houses of suspects burned

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