A CCTV captured video of head constable Satish Prasad, allegedly abusing the woman donning his combat uniform and carrying an INSAS rifle, was also shared widely over social media.
The present happenings in Manipur are the wages of continued neglect, and not so benign at that, of a vital region and its people. Had we lavished on the North East even a fraction of the care and resources we do on Kashmir, things would not have come to this pass, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
The number of seized weapons included 36 arms including three numbers of Ak 47/56, four carbine machine guns, seven SLRs and 1,615 number of ammunition and explosives including 82 numbers of hand grenades, police said.
The development came two days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a decision has been taken to provide security to the farmers who will start the cropping season.
A group of MPs from the opposition alliance INDIA will visit Manipur on July 29 and 30 to assess the situation in the northeastern state which has been engulfed in ethnic violence since May 3.
In a fresh incident of arms looting, a mob comprising the majority community broke into a police armoury and stole weapons, including AK and 'Ghatak' series of assault rifles, and over 19,000 bullets of various calibres, officials said.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the opposition parties are only reflecting the sentiments of the people of Manipur and of the country.
The members of the peace committee include the chief minister, a few ministers, MPs, MLAs, leaders from different political parties and civil society groups.
'This committee underscores the Indian State's longstanding conventional approach to leverage top-down conflict management in North East India in general and Manipur in particular.' 'Trying to 'manage' violent conflicts top-down has not worked in the past, and apparently does not seem to work this time either.'
Government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan said that the government is making efforts towards this end.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled all his programmes for the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka in the wake of clashes reported in parts of Manipur, sources said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has formed a 10-member special investigation team (SIT) under a DIG-rank officer to probe six cases related to the Manipur violence referred to it by the state government, officials said on Friday.
The injured were later safely evacuated to Imphal for treatment. Condition of the one of them is serious, officials said.
The political war of words over Manipur intensified on Saturday with the BJP raising the incidents of atrocities against women in West Bengal and Rajasthan and questioning the 'silence' of the opposition, which termed it as a diversionary tactic to avoid debate on the situation in the north-eastern state.
Garcetti reportedly said the violence and killings in Manipur are a matter of "human concern" and the US is "ready to assist" India in dealing with the situation "if asked".
According to the latest data, the CBI has so far registered 27 cases handed over to it by the state police -- 19 cases of crime against women, three related to an armoury loot by a mob, two of murder and one each of rioting and murder, kidnapping and general criminal conspiracy, sources aware of the developments said.
The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by a mob. A 26-second video of the incident had surfaced on July 19.
The Supreme Court on Monday described the violence perpetrated against women in strife-torn Manipur as of "unprecedented magnitude" and refused to consider a plea on similar alleged incidents in opposition-ruled states, such as West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
'Till the time the chief minister continues to have command over the state forces, we don't think that gives any hope of peace coming back to Manipur.'
In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
'If Manipur is divided on ethnic lines, similar demands will come in other states also.'
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has condemned the alliance between the AIADMK and BJP, calling it a move driven by "hunger for power" and against the ideals of protecting state rights. He accused the alliance of being formed based on corruption and said it is doomed to fail. Stalin also criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah for failing to address key issues like NEET and Hindi imposition, claiming that the BJP's agenda is to eradicate Tamil language and undermine Tamil Nadu's rights.
Chief Minister Zoramthanga, deputy CM Tawnluia, ministers, and MLAs of the state cutting across party lines took part in the massive protest rally in Aizawl.
More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured in clashes between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur since May 3.
Officials added that one INSAS light machine gun was recovered by the forces during initial search.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of not addressing the problem of Manipur even during the debate on the violence in the northeastern state in Parliament a few days ago.
Sources said leaders of various opposition parties who have now formed the INDIA alliance will meet in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and will discuss their further strategy in Parliament.
This comes after 10 Kuki MLAs, cutting across party affiliations, had expressed their inability to attend the assembly session as violence in the northeastern state continued.
Schools in Manipur reopened on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 after an extended summer vacation caused by the prevailing law and order situation.
Bose, who was earlier a Lok Sabha MP, pointed out in an interview to PTI that members of all the three communities had joined Netaji's INA in 1944 and fought shoulder to shoulder in the battlefields of Bishnupur and Ukhrul districts in an advance into India.
The ITLF said Mizoram has welcomed more than 40,000 refugees from Myanmar and displaced people from Manipur, and it is still the most peaceful state in India.
The state government order came amid reports that properties belonging to members of one of the warring communities are being burnt or razed to the ground by the other in various places.
Responding to media queries on the development, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that "such interference in India's internal affairs is unacceptable, and reflects a colonial mindset".
As Manipur is still witnessing incidents like arson since May 3, the state government has extended the ban on the internet by five more days till June 25. Data services have also been banned in view of the persisting unrest in the state.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has called upon the West Bengal government to "act urgently" to address the grievances of the riot-hit people of Murshidabad district, particularly women. Rahatkar, who visited the riot-affected areas in Murshidabad and Malda over the weekend, said the commission is preparing a report which will be submitted soon to the Centre with copies to top state officials. The report will incorporate the views of women who narrated their ordeal during the violence, including demands for a Border Security Force (BSF) camp in the affected area. Rahatkar also expressed concern about the lack of action by the State Women's Commission in visiting the affected areas.
Two abandoned houses were set on fire by unidentified people in Manipur's Imphal West district in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday said it has asked Manipur government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation each within four weeks to the next of kin of all the people who died in ethnic clashes since May.
"My heart is full of pain and anger," he told reporters in his remarks ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, amid his criticism by opposition parties for not speaking on the ethnic violence in the north east state.
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