On Camera, BSF Jawan Gropes Woman In Manipur Store, Suspended

A head constable of the Border Security Force (BSF), caught sexually assaulting a woman on camera inside a grocery store in ethnic strife-torn Manipur last week, has been suspended by the border guarding force. A case has been filed against him.

The footage from a CCTV camera inside the store, shared widely on social media, showed a man in uniform and carrying an INSAS rifle - later identified as Head Constable Satish Prasad - groping the woman.

"The incident took place in Imphal on July 20 at a shop near a petrol pump. The accused has been identified as Head Constable Satish Prasad. He has been suspended and a case has been registered against him," a senior officer told NDTV.

According to the official, the BSF has initiated an internal probe against the accused after it received a complaint. "He has been kept in close arrest and departmental proceedings have been initiated against him," the official said.

Last week, a video of two women being paraded naked in the state's Thoubal district before being allegedly gangraped went viral, triggering massive outrage. So far seven people have been arrested in the case, of whom one is a juvenile.

"The state police is making all efforts to identify the remaining culprits by raiding the suspected hideouts of those who have been identified," a senior officer, in charge of the probe, said.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Police have claimed that several Zero FIRs over cases of sexual violence have been filed but there has been no progress in the probe since the victims and survivors are yet to join the investigation. 

"We are also acting against those who are circulating fake news," he said.

The state police on Monday registered a case after a video of a tragic murder of a woman by armed men in Myanmar was attributed to Manipur and circulated to incite unrest in the violence-hit northeastern state.

The Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) filed an FIR and initiated a probe to trace the IP addresses of those who circulated the video.

Authorities are determined to arrest those behind this "fake news" and hold them accountable for attempting to disturb public tranquility, incite violence, and disrupt law and order in a state that is witnessing an ethnic conflict.