Manipur women paraded naked: Made to strip, dance at gunpoint, says wife of Kargil war veteran

GUWAHATI: For a retired Army subedar and Kargil War veteran from Manipur, who is the husband of one of the two women in the video clip shown paraded naked in her village on May 4 by a mob, his native place is more horrifying and dangerous.

Also See: Manipur Video Live

When TOI spoke to the couple, who are now living in a relief camp in Churachandpur having seen their home and hearth turned to ashes by attackers, they said they have lost everything in their lives — from materials to dignity.

“We two women were made to strip at gunpoint in front of thousands of men in the mob in the open. They threatened to kill us if we did not shed our clothes. They made us dance, shoved us, and paraded us. They all behaved like wild animals” the soldier’s 42-year-old wife said.

“She went into a depression but with our children to care for, she is struggling to come back to normal,” the 65-year-old husband said.

“I have seen the war fighting in the front at Kargil. And when I have returned home (after my retirement), my own place is more dangerous than the battlefield,” he said.

For two days, May 3 and 4, the mob in thousands raided as many as nine villages in the area, burning down houses, a church and killing domestic animals.

“They came to our village (B Phainom) on May 4 and as they started burning down houses, all villagers ran here and there to save their lives. My wife got separated from me and she and four other villagers hid behind a tree in the forest. Some of the attackers who were chasing our goats, pigs and chickens also entered the forest and found my wife and the others hiding there and captured them,” the husband said.

'Father, brother killed on spot while trying to protect woman'

He added, "Besides my wife, there was a woman and baby and three members of one family (father, son and daughter). When they were brought out in the open they saw a waiting police vehicle and hopped into it but the mob overpowered the two policemen and dragged out my wife and the other four."

In the meantime, the husband and other villagers who the attackers could get hold of, were also brought out of hiding into the village dirt road.

"I could see them taking my wife and the other four to a distance. The three women were forced to strip. One woman who was carrying a baby in her arms was later set free and allowed to go by some people in the mob who knew her. The mob was trying to molest the other younger woman and when her father and younger brother tried to protect them they were killed on the spot," the husband said.

According to the FIR, the younger girl was later "brutally gang raped in broad daylight." Police sources said the gang rape could not be established as the girl is traceless. The former Army personnel said he was taken away by her boyfriend later. "It was about two to three hours this ordeal continued and when the mob dispersed all villagers fled the scene. We walked across the hills and at night I rejoined with my wife at a Naga village. The younger girl was taken away by her boyfriend. The next morning we started trekking with some villagers in our group that had few pregnant women. Others went in different directions," he said.


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