Imphal, Sept. 6: Manipur today erupted in anger over the rape of a tribal girl by armed miscreants inside a Guwahati-Imphal night bus.

Passengers of the Royal Rajdhani Luxury Coach, the bus in which the dastardly act took place yesterday, told the police that a 15-member armed gang waylaid the vehicle between Pipima and Jubza in Nagaland at around 1 am.

It was the third Imphal-bound bus that the gang had stopped at the same spot.

After collecting all the cash and valuables they could lay their hands on, the gang allowed the first two vehicles to proceed to Manipur.

One of the robbers then drove the Royal Rajdhani Luxury Coach to a deserted spot along the National Highway 39. After the vehicle came to a halt, members of the gang raped a girl, seated in front, one by one.

The victim’s co-passengers admitted to not uttering a word of protest because the rapists had threatened to shoot anyone who did so. The gang molested another female passenger before fleeing.

The joint action committee of tourist bus operators of Manipur today decided to suspend bus services on the Imphal-Dimapur highway on Sunday in protest against the incident. It threatened to go on an indefinite strike if Nagaland police fail to arrest the culprits soon.

Director-general of police Bimolchandra Singh contacted his Nagaland counterpart over phone and requested him to take all possible steps to apprehend the gang. Inspector-general of police (intelligence) T. Thang Thuam later told The Telegraph that Nagaland police had promised to spare no effort to bring the culprits to book.

Opposition leader Nimaichand Luwang said an insurgent outfit could not have been involved in the incident. “Rape and looting can by no means be the activities of a revolutionary organisation. In any case, travelling on the highway is now fraught with risks and the onus is on the Manipur and Nagaland governments to protect passengers,” he added.

Students of Manipur University said the gang involved in the rape had not only humiliated the women, but Manipuri society as a whole.

Buses to Imphal from Guwahati and Shillong will henceforth depart at 6 pm. “This is to ensure that buses enter Nagaland after dawn,” a spokesman of the joint action committee said.