Manipur cops identify 14 more people in viral video case

Imphal, Jul 24 (PTI) Manipur police on Monday said 14 people have been identified from a video of two women who were stripped and paraded and action has been initiated to arrest them.

Police have already arrested six people in connection with the viral video of the incident on May 4 in Kangpokpi district.

The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by a mob. A 26-second video of the incident had surfaced on July 19.

One of the women seen in the video is the wife of an ex-Army man, who served as a subedar in the Assam Regiment and had even fought in the Kargil War.

A complaint in connection with the video was lodged around a month ago June 21 at the Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district.

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.