Even as 40 MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi pleading for the steps to be taken to ensure complete disarmament of the state, another horrific case of sexual assault that took place during the ethnic clashes in the state has come to light, after the survivor who has been living in a relief camp, came forward and filed a police FIR against the perpetrators on the Wednesday.
In the latest case, a 37-year-old married woman from Churachandpur district alleged that she was caught by a group of men while she was fleeing from her burning house with her two sons, niece and sister-in-law and gang-raped on May 3, the day violence erupted in the state.
She said that she could gather courage to go to the police after seeing reports of other women speaking out to share their ordeal during the clashes. “I initially decided not to disclose the incident to save myself and my family's honour, dignity and to save ourselves from social ostracism. The delay in filing this complaint is due to social stigma... I even wanted to end my life,” the woman said in her statement attached with the 'zero FIR' filed with Bishnupur police station on Wednesday.
She is presently living in a relief camp for internally displaced people. The case has been filed under Sections 376D, 354, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the first information report (FIR), on May 3 around 6:30 pm, miscreants set fire to the woman and her neighbour's houses, after which she, her two sons, niece and sister-in-law ran away from the spot as fast as they could.
“I carried my niece on my back and also held my two sons and started running from the spot along with my sister-in-law. She was also carrying a baby on her back and was running ahead of me. Then I stumbled and fell down on the road and unable to get up... my sister-in-law came back running towards me and picked up my niece from my back and ran along with my two sons on my insistence,” the woman stated in the 'zero FIR' filed in Bishnupur, 35 km from her now-destroyed house in Churachandpur.
“When I finally managed to get up, some five-six... miscreants got hold of me... They started verbally abusing and assaulting me. Despite my resistance, I was forcefully pinned down. After this, the men started sexually assaulting me...” the woman mentioned in the FIR.
A 'zero FIR' can be filed at any police station, not necessarily at a police station under whose jurisdiction the crime has happened. The police station where the case has been filed has to send the FIR to the correct jurisdiction, which will then investigate it, in this case, the Churachandpur police station.
The woman said in the aftermath of the assualt her health completely deteriorated, and she even thought of dying by suicide. She said that she went to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in the state capital Imphal, but returned without seeing a doctor as she couldn't even "express" herself.
Subsequently, she further said that she went to JNIMS Hospital in Imphal on Tuesday as her health worsened. The doctors there treated and counselled her, contributing to her strength to report the case.
“... I started realising the trauma and sufferings that I went through because of their heinous crimes committed against me without any fault of mine... Adequate punishment should be given to the gang of culprits who abused, sexually and physically assaulted me," the woman said.
Meanwhile in a memorandum to the Prime Minister 40 MLAs stated that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
The MLAs, most of whom are ethnic Meiteis, also demanded the withdrawal of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement with Kuki militant groups, implementation of NRC in the state and strengthening of the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs).
In the memorandum, these MLAs also opposed the demand for a ‘separate administration’ by Kuki groups.
