Manipur video horror: House of arrested main accused set on fire, family ostracised

Two days after a video showing two women being paraded naked in Manipur went viral, an angry mob, comprising mostly women, on Thursday torched the house of main accused Huirem Heradash Singh.

Singh along with three others was arrested on Thursday after he was seen prominently directing the mob at B. Phainom village of Kangpokpi district in the 26-second video that surfaced on Wednesday.

Apart from burning down his house, the villagers also ostracised the family of the accused, PTI reported on Thursday. 

News 18 took to Twitter to share the first visuals of the incident.

Manipur Viral Video Horror: First visuals of the main accused’s house being torched in Manipur@kamalikasengupt with details on it#Manipur #ManipurViolence | @Sriya_Kundu pic.twitter.com/n8CrgnlQ72

— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 21, 2023

The identity of the other three arrested persons was not immediately known.

Senior officers are scrutinising the video and matching those who feature in it with the people arrested.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the video, police had earlier said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder was registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unknown armed men and that all-out efforts were on to arrest the culprits at the earliest.

Earlier in the day, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said a thorough investigation is underway into the incident and strict action, including possible capital punishment, will follow.

More than 150 people have been killed and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May, 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 the state’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.

With inputs from agencies