Outcry over barbaric act in Manipur

Four people arrested 77 days after the brutal assault amid protests across cities

- Prawesh Lama

Police in Manipur on Thursday arrested four people who were allegedly part of a mob that paraded and assaulted three women after stripping them on May 4, in an incident whose video clips, which surfaced on Wednesday, have led to ripples across the country amid the ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state.

These were the first arrests in the case after 77 days of the incident, and a month after the FIR was sent to the appropriate police station. Heirum Hera Das (32), a resident of Thoubal town, was the first to be arrested. In a tweet later in the day, police said: “Three more accused of abduction and gang rape under Nongpok Sekmai police station. So total four persons have been arrested. The state police is making all-out efforts to arrest the other culprits at the earliest. Raids are conducting.” Police are yet to reveal the identity of the remaining three arrested people.