NEW DELHI: The CBI today took over the investigation into the alleged sexual assault on two women in Manipur by a mob on May 4, the development coming on a day when 21 opposition MPs from 16 parties reached Imphal to assess the ground situation in the strife-torn state.
A video clip of the alleged assault purportedly showed two women from one of the warring communities in the state being paraded naked by men from the other side. The clip went viral on social media on July 19, leading to a massive uproar across the country on crimes allegedly being committed in the state.
The MPs visited Kuki-inhabited Churachandpur district by helicopter from Imphal and met the community members living in relief camps after fleeing from Meitei-majority areas. Later, they also visited the relief camps in Imphal where Meitei refugees have been putting up.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is part of the delegation, told reporters in Imphal that the ethnic conflict in Manipur had “dented India’s image internationally”. “We want the end of violence and restoration of peace at the earliest. The entire world is watching what’s going on in Manipur,” he said.
The leaders of the ruling BJP, meanwhile, hit out at the visit, calling it an act of “show-off and political tourism”. “When Manipur used to remain shut for months, they didn’t speak a word. When the delegation returns from Manipur, the members of the team will not allow Parliament to function. I request Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to take the same delegation to West Bengal where atrocities are happening against women,” said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
The alleged sexual assault case, said CBI officials, was handed over to it following a reference from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The CBI has already been roped in to probe six cases related to the conspiracy leading to the violence in Manipur.
On May 18, the state police had registered a case of abduction, gang-rape and murder at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unidentified armed people. The officials said the central agency had taken over the FIR registered by the Manipur Police as its own case, in accordance with the procedure established under the law.
The CBI has already stationed its special investigation team (SIT) under a DIG-rank officer in Manipur as the agency would dispatch some more women officers, besides forensic experts, to probe the case, the officials said. The video was doing the rounds on social media on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum to highlight the plight of tribals in Manipur.