In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said. This is the first time that an attack has occurred in Ukhrul district, which is dominated by Tangkhul Nagas. Sounds of heavy gunfire were heard from the village early in the morning. Officials said the bodies of the three youths, aged between 24 years and 35 years, were found after police carried out a thorough search in the surrounding villages and forest areas. The bodies bore injury marks inflicted by sharp knives; the limbs were also chopped off, officials said.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.
SC Notice to state
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response of the Manipur government in another shocking case of a woman who has claimed that her clothes were torn by the mob and she was paraded but the police did not come to her aid.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the Manipur government and listed the matter for hearing on October 13 along with the main matter.
The petition, filed through advocate Amrita Sarkar, claimed that women, who were also part of the mob, hit the survivor's one-year-old baby and due to violence, she suffered fractures in her hands and grave injuries on her head.
“Petitioner No.2’s clothes were torn by the mob and she was made to parade till Deputy Commissioner’s building in Imphal where the police were standing but nobody came to her aid,” stated the plea.
The petition also alleged inaction by the state police in another case where two persons, including one woman, were beaten to death by a “mob of Meitei community.”
It said that petitioners, who are from the Kuki community, were brutally tortured, and their family members killed before their eyes.
After great difficulty, the two survivors reached Delhi where they have been receiving medical treatment, the plea stated.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had expressed its anguish over the manner in which women have been subjected to grave acts of sexual violence during sectarian violence. It had even set up a committee comprising three woman judges to inquire into the violence.
