The special CBI court in Guwahati has framed charges against six men who were allegedly involved in the stripping and parading of three women on May 4, 2023, in strife-hit Manipur.
The case not only drew nationwide outrage after a 26-second video of the assault on the women victims went viral on July 19, 2023, but also saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence, on the 79th day of the Manipur violence, a day after the assault video went viral.
The ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos had erupted on May 3, 2023.
Two of the victims from the Kuki-Zo majority Kangpokpi district were allegedly sexually abused before being set free by the mob. Family members of one of the victims were killed during the assault.
The special CBI court, in its order passed on January 2, has fixed January 16 for the production of the six accused, four of whom are in Sajiwa Jail in Manipur, while two of them are out on bail.
The six accused have been charged with 15 counts under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The order also said the accused had pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out and explained, the order passed by special judge, CBI, C.B. Gogoi said.
The charges against them included disrobing an SC or ST person and parading naked SC or ST women, assault using criminal force, murder, gang rape, riot promoting enmity between groups and destroying dwelling places.
Police had lodged a suo motu case under IPC sections dealing with abduction, gang rape and murder at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unidentified men after the video went viral. The six accused were arrested on July 20, 2023, even though the first FIR was filed on May 18, 2023, by a Kuki village chief from Kangpokpi district.
Drugs bust
The narcotics control bureau has arrested two local men and seized over 7kg of heroin in Manipur, busting a trafficking module sourced from Myanmar, officials said on Thursday.
Additional inputs from PTI
