Women Paraded, Raped In Manipur Were Driven To Mob By Cops: CBI Chargesheet

In a shocking charge, the CBI has alleged that personnel from the Manipur Police allegedly drove the two women to a mob of around 1,000 people, which stripped and paraded them before they were gang-raped, in an incident that shook the nation. The crime, which occurred on May 4 last year - just a day after ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kukis - had come to light after videos began being circulated in July.

In its chargesheet filed in October, which has come to light a few days before the anniversary of the start of the violence, the central agency has also said that the mob had attacked a third woman belonging to the same family and tried to strip her, but failed because she was holding on tightly to her young granddaughter.

She managed to escape the clutches of the mob after the group attacking her went towards the first two survivors - one in her 40s and the other in her 20s - who were being attacked in some paddy fields.

All three women had sought the help of police personnel present at the spot, but were left at the mob's mercy, the agency said in the chargesheet.

Heavily Armed

According to a report by news agency PTI, the women, one of whom was the wife of a Kargil war veteran, pleaded with the police personnel to drive them to a safe location but were allegedly told that "there was no key" for the vehicle. They later drove them right to the mob and refused to go any further, the chargesheet said.

The CBI filed its chargesheet against six accused in the case and a report against a child in conflict with the law (CCL) before the Special CBI judge in Guwahati on October 16.

The document states that the mob that the women were running from was 900-1,000 people strong and many of its members carried sophisticated weapons like AK, SLR, INSAS and .303 rifles. The mob allegedly "burnt to the ground" all the houses of the women's village, B Phainom in Kangpokpi district, after vandalising them.

Group Split Up

While the village was being ransacked, the three women and seven others ran into the Haokhongching forest nearby to hide from the mob, but were spotted. One group from the mob took two men and two women with them, another captured the third victim and her granddaughter while the third took the village chief, another man and his two daughters.

The chargesheet states that one of the two women who was gang-raped and paraded naked was unwell and had to be carried on the backs of male members of the family as they proceeded to the Chakhama village, which is about four km from theirs.

The mob's ranks swelled as others from a nearby village joined the group and all of them started thrashing the victims. At this time, some people in the mob told the women there was a police vehicle parked near the road and they should go there and seek help, officials told PTI.

The report said the two women and a man managed to get inside the vehicle, a Gypsy, in which two police personnel and a driver were sitting while three to four personnel stood outside.

The man pleaded with the driver to take them to a safe place but was told that "there was no key". Later, the driver drove the Gypsy straight to the mob and stopped it in front of them. The victims begged the police personnel to drive them to safety, but to no avail.

Man In Vehicle Killed

The violent mob headed toward the vehicle and the police personnel fled. By this time, the rioters had already killed the father of the man who was sitting in the Gypsy and he was also later bludgeoned to death, the CBI chargesheet stated. Their bodies were thrown on a dry riverbed near the village.

The two survivors were pulled out of the Gypsy, stripped and paraded naked. They were later gang-raped. The third woman, "crying inconsolably", ran towards another village and was reunited with her family the next day.

The CBI has chargesheeted Huirem Herodas Meitei, Arun Kungongbam, Ningombam Tomba Singh, Yumlemban Jiban Singh, Pukrihongbam Surunjoy Meiti and Nameirakpam Kiran Meiti and a report has been filed against a juvenile.

"Investigation has established that the accused individuals, part of ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis, conspired with a large group of unidentified miscreants from the Meitei community to execute a series of preplanned criminal acts, including violence, arson, sexual assault, and murder with a clear intent," the chargesheet said.

"Their deliberate actions which specifically targeted victims from the tribal community, included threats, violence and various unlawful acts, aimed at promoting enmity between different groups," it added.

The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those pertaining to gang rape, murder, outraging the modesty of a woman and criminal conspiracy, the CBI has said.