"We can't return to our village," the mother of one of the women paraded naked in Manipur told NDTV
The mother of one of the women who was paraded naked by a mob of men in ethnic violence-hit Manipur told NDTV there is no possibility of the devastated family of ever returning to their village.
The woman's mother, who remains deeply traumatised and can't speak beyond a few minutes, alleged the Manipur government has not done enough to stop the violence or protect people.
Her husband and son were killed by the mob, before her daughter was stripped, paraded and groped by the men on camera on May 4, a day after clashes broke out between the valley-majority Meiteis and the hill-majority Kuki tribe. Four people have been arrested since yesterday after a video of the incident surfaced on social media.
"I have lost my youngest son, who was my entire hope. I was expecting that once he completes Class 12 and with much difficulty, I sent him to school to get a proper education. Now his father is also no more. My elder son does not have a job. So, when I think about the future of our family, I feel there is no hope. Apart from saying that I feel hopeless and helpless, there is nothing on my mind," the woman told NDTV.
Referring to the complete breakdown of trust between communities after the large-scale violence that has claimed over 120 lives, the woman said the thought of returning to her village hasn't even crossed her mind.
"There is no possibility of us going back to our village. That thought has not even crossed my mind... No, we cannot go back. I don't want to go back. Our houses have been burned, our fields destroyed. What will I go back to? My village is burnt down. I don't know what the future for me and my family is, but I cannot go back," she told NDTV.
She faulted the Manipur government for not controlling the violence that spiralled out since it began on May 3.
"I am very angry and agitated. They have brutally killed her father and her brother and even with her, they have done this humiliating act... I am so hurt. The government of Manipur is not doing anything. Mothers and fathers of India, we are at a loss, we are unable to think of what to do from now on as a community. By the grace of God, physically I am doing okay, but I think about it day and night. I have consulted a doctor as I have been feeling very weak lately," she told NDTV.
The women paraded naked were "left to the mob by the police", one of the victims has alleged in an interview to the Indian Express.
The first information report (FIR) was filed 15 days later, but the first arrests were made only yesterday, after the video of the horrific incident went viral on social media, triggering massive nationwide outrage.