After a horrendous video of women being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur went viral on social media earlier this week, several more such incidents have emerged from the ethnic violence hit-state.
The crimes provide a glimpse of the barbaric nature of the unabated cycle of ethnic clashes in Manipur.
In a first, a video of a man’s head on a spike has emerged from Manipur.
The beheading of the man is believed to have taken place on July 2, reported Hindustan Times.
The report said the members of tribal organisations identified the deceased as David Theik, a resident of Lamza village in Churachandpur.
The report quoting a member of Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said the victim was supposed to go to Mumbai for a job but was stuck after ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3.
“He was the only bread earner of the family. Until the pandemic, he was working as a waiter at a hotel in Mumbai. He returned to Manipur sometime in 2020. It is unclear if he had lost his job there. His family told us he was planning to go back to Mumbai but was caught in the violence. His father has physical disabilities. His mother died when he was young. He and his younger brother had to drop out of school,” the report quoted ITLF member as having said.
It said Theik was volunteering to keep guard when he was attacked by an armed group at around 5am on July 2.
“People in Theik’s village were taking turns on the watch since it shares boundaries with villages that have a mix of tribal and non-tribal populations,” it said.
It added: “Their village had been attacked by armed miscreants the previous day. Some of the villagers, including Theik were guarding the village when the first group of miscreants launched the attack.”
The report further quoting an ITLF member said: “Their interaction with family members revealed that Theik was first shot, then his body severed, one of his eyes gouged out. The chopped head was then placed atop a bamboo atop a fence.”
“We were told by villagers that Theik had rescued a woman and her two children and sent them to a safer place outside the village when the miscreants first launched the attack. Theik was waiting for his friend who had gone out to get a scooter. The two were supposed to flee the village on a scooter but were caught by the mob,” ITLF member was quoted as having said.
'Charred' women's body:
A photo of the charred body of a 45-year-old woman has also surfaced on social media.
The Hindu reported the woman was stripped and set ablaze in Imphal East on May 6.
The incident, as per the report, occurred two days after three women were disrobed and paraded naked in the incident whose video went viral earlier this week.
The report quoting Thianna Vaiphei Sauntak, a pastor at Pheitaiching village, said “he had found the semi-charred body of the 45-year-old mother of two on May 7, a day after a large mob had attacked the village. He said he went there under army protection”.
“The body was half burnt, she was naked. The body was taken away to a government hospital in Imphal, we do not know where it is,” the pastor was quoted as having said.
The pastor according to the report said that armed men wearing black shirts had descended on the village on May 6.
He claimed that Manipur Police commandos had accompanied the mob, the report mentioned.
“While our houses were torched, most villagers were able to flee the scene. The woman, who used to live alone, could not run away and was caught by the mob. She was killed, her body was mutilated,” the report was quoted as having said.
He added that “it was on his complaint that a zero First Information Report (FIR) was registered in Kangpokpi for rioting, murder, and mischief by fire,” it said.
“We always expected the police to help us, instead they fired at us. The village volunteers also ran away, the woman was left behind. It is a horrible situation, I have never experienced anything like this before,” the pastor added, as per the report.
Women at carwash 'torture':
A case of two women tortured by a mob at car wash has also emerged.
Two young tribal women from Manipur’s Kangpokpi working in an Imphal car wash were allegedly gang-raped at their workplace.
As per TOI report, the women were dragged out and left to die by a mob rampaging through the capital city on May 4, coinciding with the strip-parade horror unfolding 40km away that very day.
According to the report in The Hindu, they(women) had been tortured by a mob of around 100 to 200 persons at their rented house near Konung Mamang.
The report said in her complaint, the mother said that the bodies were yet to be recovered.
