In a video that has been shared on social media, it can be seen how two women are subjected to gross sexual abuse.
The abuses, which occurred on May 4 according to Indian police, are part of a larger conflict in the state of Manipur. At least 130 people have been killed and 60,000 people displaced from their homes to relief camps in the past two months, reports BBC.
The conflict is between the majority Meitei population and the Kuki tribe.
“If you don’t undress, we will kill you”
The video shows how the two women, belonging to the Kuki tribe, are surrounded by a mob of young men.
“If you don’t undress, we will kill you,” they shout.
Naked, they were forced to walk through a town, where the men grabbed their sexes and dragged them away to a field. They are said to have been raped there.
The women’s families were also attacked and two male family members were killed.
The chief judge: “Gross failure”
India’s Chief Justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud has harshly criticized the government after the incident, which he calls “deeply disturbing” and a “gross constitutional failure”.
But there has been silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, something that has caused great anger among the population. Violent protests for women’s rights and the ongoing violence in Manipur have been sparked across India.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister spoke for the first time.
– I assure the country that the law will enter this case with all its force. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven, he said during a press meet in Parliament.
He also said that what happened has “made a mockery of India”.
The police have started a preliminary investigation. And only now, after the videos have spread, have four men been arrested, reports say Daily Mail. One of the men is said to have been seen dragging the women away.
If convicted, they face the death penalty.
– After seeing the video, we took a decision to condemn the heinous crime as a crime against humanity, says the state’s Chief Minister Biren Singh, according to the Daily Mail.