Centre orders Twitter, social media platforms not to share video of Manipur women paraded naked

The Union government has issued an order to Twitter and other social platforms, instructing them not to share the viral video of the two Manipuri women, from the Kuki community, being paraded naked and allegedly gang raped by the mob.

“It is imperative for social media platforms to adhere to Indian laws as the matter is currently under investigation,” news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying.

A video, about two months old, from Manipur was widely circulated on Twitter and other social media platforms on Wednesday which showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, assaulted and gang raped.

A mid-level police official has confirmed the incident and dated it back to May 4, just a day after ethnic clashes broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur’s Churachandpur town.

Kukis mostly reside in the hill districts, while Meiteis are the dominant community in Imphal. The clashes on May 3 broke out after Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to Manipur’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community.

Family of Manipuri women murdered

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the FIR in the case also mentioned that two family members of the women in question were also murdered by the mob that numbered around 800-1,000.

“The incident had happened under the Nongpok Sekma police station of Thoubal so the case was transferred to them,” the report quoted a police officer aware of the case saying.

A case of abduction, gang rape and murder has been registered.

As per reports, on May 4, around 3 pm, about 800-1,000 miscreants armed with weapons entered the B Phainom village in Kangpokpi district. The violent mob vandalised houses, looted all the moveable properties including furniture, electronic items, utensils, clothes, grains, cattle, domestic animals and cash. Before leaving they burnt the houses, the village head said in the complaint registered to the police.

After the video of the crime went viral, the spokesperson of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said the “despicable scene, which happened on May 4 in Kangpokpi district, shows men constantly molesting the helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors.”

“The horrifying ordeal suffered by these innocent women is amplified by the perpetrators’ decision to share the video, which shows the identity of the victims, on social media,” the forum said.