Old photo of girl killed in Delhi peddled as body of Meitei woman triggered Manipur gangrape, public shaming

The horrific incident of two women from Manipur’s Kuki tribe being paraded naked and allegedly gangraped is said to be a trigger after rumours of female from the community, which the mob belonged to, was sexually assaulted. The mob allegedly was furious over the piece of fake news, a photograph of a body of a young woman wrapped in plastic, lying next to a suitcase. The photo became viral in Manipur in early May and the message with the picture claimed it was of a woman who belonged to Meitei community who was raped and killed by Kuki men. It was not correct as the photo was from November 2022 and was of a woman from Delhi. It was of a victim Aayushi Chaudhary who was allegedly murdered by her own patents. Manipur police tried to stop rumours but the mob was already incited by the fake news and photograph. As per media reports, the mob armed with AK Rifles, SLR, INSAS, and .303 Rifles, on May 4 entered a village in Manipur and vandalised houses and properties along with looting shops. They were outraged by rumours - believed to be fake - that women from their community had been raped. They then chased a group of five locals - two men and three women - who had fled from the village when the mob began approaching. To save their lives, the group ran towards the nearby forest, but they were abducted by the mob nearly 2 km away from the police station. As per the FIR, the mob first killed one man, and later forced three women to strip naked. A 19-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped, and her brother was killed when he tried to intervene. The women escaped afterwards. The incident occurred on May 4, just a day after ethnic clashes broke put in the north-east majority Meitei and the hill-majority Kuki tribe. The violence on May 3 started during a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, that was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The main accused in the incident has been arrested, and Manipur police said other suspects have been identified and will be arrested soon. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh criticised the incident and termed it a “crime against humanity”. “A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment," the chief minister said. 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. With inputs from agencies