Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu requests the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to resolve the issue in her home state
Our Bureau
Imphal/New Delhi
In a major development on Thursday, four people were arrested after a horrifying viral video of women being paraded naked surfaced from Manipur. Earlier, Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey expressed her strong condemnation of the viral video of women being paraded naked and allegedly sexually assaulted and directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to take immediate steps to book the perpetrators of this heinous crime and award exemplary punishment as per law.
Amidst a nationwide outcry over the appalling incident in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that two individuals, including the primary perpetrator, have been apprehended. He emphasized that his government would spare no effort in seeking the death penalty for the accused.
“One was arrested yesterday and recently I got information that another one has also been arrested now. The interrogation is going on. The state police have arrested the suspected main culprit and those who involve have also been arrested and will be booked as per the law,” Singh said.
The violence in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All-Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3 in protest against the proposed inclusion of people belonging to the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Meanwhile, Opposition parties have given notice to discuss the ongoing violence in Manipur in both Houses of the Parliament on Friday, the second day of the Monsoon Session. While in the Lok Sabha the Opposition parties have given notice under Rule 193, in the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition have given notice under Rule 176 and Rule 267. The government, in principle, has agreed to discuss the matter in Lok Sabha under Rule 193 and in Rajya Sabha under Rule 176.
It may be noted that Rule 193 in Lok Sabha and Rule 176 in Rajya Sabha refers to short discussion. Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha refers to suspension of business of the day.
Day one of the monsoon session of the Parliament witnessed unruly scenes amid sloganeering by the opposition over Manipur violence as joint opposition sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the issue.
This came amid a fresh controversy after a video of two women being paraded naked in the State surfaced and was widely circulated. The video was approximately three months old and is being reported to be of May 4, a day after the ethnic clashes in the northeastern state broke out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took note of the video and said, “I am filled with pain and the incident is shameful for any civil society.” “No accused will be spared, we will never forgive those who are behind this,” he said.
In a related development, Indian weightlifter and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has expressed her views on the Manipur violence while requesting the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to resolve the issue.
“It has been three months since the violence has broken out in the state of Manipur and the situation is not getting better. Many sports players are being restricted from training and students are not being able to study properly,” 28-year-old Saikhom Mirabai Chanu said in a tweet on July 17. Chanu added, “Many people have died, and houses have been burned amidst the ongoing crisis in Manipur.”
Commonwealth Games gold medalist said, “Manipur is my hometown, currently, I am in the USA preparing for the upcoming World Championship and Asian Games. I am not in Manipur but I still wonder when the dust will settle and peace is restored in Manipur.”
Lastly, she said, “I want to appeal to the Prime Minister and Home Minister, to restore peace in the state and bring back the prosperity back to Manipur.”
Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 201 kg, winning the Gold Medal at the CWG 2022. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Women’s 49 kg category.
