Days after a team of 83 CBI officers was assigned to investigate 17 cases related to alleged gang-rape and mob violence in Manipur, the Meitei community leaders are now seeking redressal from the Centre on the hundreds of FIRs related to May 3 incidents. A majority of such FIRs are part of a mass complaint movement launched by the Meitei villagers against Kukis.
News18 has accessed and analysed 53 FIRs, which were lodged in connection with the incidents that took place on May 3. At least 41 of these complaints are zero FIRs and lodged with Moirang police station in Manipur’s Bishnupur district. The bunch of FIRs include a complaint of gang-rape by a 37-year-old Meitei woman.
According to the FIR lodged in Bishnupur, the incident took place at Khumujamba Meitei Leikai in Churachandpur on the evening of May 3, and the case was lodged three months later on August 9. News18 spoke with the relatives of the victim and members of the community who said the victim was under “trauma and extreme fear”.
The zero FIRs were filed by the Meitei residents from Thoubal and Churachandpur with the officer in charge of Moirang police station. The complaints were filed on a printed format, which had similar statements of the crime committed and the complainants only filled up their names, address and date. These FIRs are primarily about the incidents of loot, attack and arson.
News 18 has the copies of all FIRs and other related documents.
News18 spoke to the leaders of Meitei community who said the complaints lodged in connection with the incidents that happened on May 3 have not been taken up by the CBI as of now.
Inclusion of Cases Related to May 3 Incidents
A division bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Manoj Misra, in its order dated August 7, stated that the three-member committee of judges would “enquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in the State of Manipur from 4 May 2023 from all available sources including personal meetings with survivors, members of the families of survivors, local and community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports…”
The committee has been mandated to “submit a report to this court on the steps required to meet the needs of the survivors including measures for dealing with rape trauma, providing social, economic, and psychological support, relief and rehabilitation in a time bound manner…”
Ngangom Junior Luwang, Advocate at Supreme Court, said the issue of considering the FIRs filed in connection with the incidents that happened on May 3 has been raised in the court. Luwang, who is representing the Meitei community members in the SC, further said, “We have requested the honourable court to include the case of gang-rape into the bunch of cases that will be investigated by the CBI.”
“We have also mentioned that the inquiry into the nature of violence against women should include the incidents that took place in Manipur since May 3, and not May 4 onwards,” he said.
Theories of Reaction & Retaliation
A group of community leaders have been camping in Delhi over the last few weeks, seeking appointments from Union home minister Amit Shah, and other senior cabinet ministers. A group of senior bureaucrats belonging to Manipur’s Meitei community have been trying to support the community members and assisting them with the legal and technical issues.
A senior leader of Meitei community, who does not want to be quoted said, “In media, and in judiciary, the incidents that happened on May 4 and later are only being talked about. Nobody is willing to see what happened a day before on May 3. There are cases of arson, rioting, loot and attack.
“There is also a case of gang-rape. But that case has not been included in the bunch of cases, which would be probed by the CBI. People need to know that what happened on May 4 was a reaction or retaliation to the incidents that happened on May 3,” he added.
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