A graphic video showing two women forced by a mob to walk naked in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has sparked outrage after it emerged on social media and prompted the country’s leader Narendra Modi to break his silence on the months-long inter-ethnic conflict tearing the state apart.
The viral video depicts an incident from May 4, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) but police only made arrests once the footage went online this week.
Manipur Police described the incident on Twitter as “a case of abduction, gang rape and murder” on Wednesday.
Officials said Thursday that four people have been arrested and that police raids are ongoing. Authorities are interrogating more than three dozen men in relation to the apparent sexual assault, Reuters reported.
The video, which has been seen by CNN, shows two terrified women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of clothed men. The women appear to be being groped and sexually assaulted while surrounded by a mob of men, many brandishing long canes or sticks as weapons.
The horrific footage emerged more than two months after the incident took place; ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur triggered state-wide internet restrictions on May 3.
Modi addressed the situation in the state for the first time on Thursday, saying: “My heart is filled with grief and anger. The incident in Manipur is shameful for any civil society.”
“What happened with the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” Modi continued, adding the “law will take its course with all its might.”
The footage sparked condemnation from every corner of Indian society, with women from a rights group in Manipur setting fire to the house of the main suspect on Thursday.
