Manipur sexual assault survivors: 'Police collude with perpetrators, want SC monitored SIT probe'

Two women victims who were seen paraded naked in the May 4 video from ethnic-strife torn Manipur have knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court, which is likely to take up the matter while hearing the petition from the Union and the Manipur governments seeking to shift the case trial to a different State.

New Delhi: The two survivors in the Manipur video before the Supreme Court pressed for a special investigation team (SIT) probe to be monitored by the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the government of India has no objection if the apex court monitors the probe.

The Supreme Court which was hearing the Centre's request to transfer the case of two women being paraded naked in violence-hit Manipur to a different state, heard a fresh plea by women victims, who were seen in the video. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud observed that there should be a mechanism to see the broader issue of violence against the women and this mechanism should ensure that all such cases are taken care of.

Victims says police collaborating with perpetrators-Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the two who paraded naked in Manipur, submitted that police were collaborating with those who perpetrated the violence and the police took them to the crowd and left the women to the crowd and then the crowd took them to the field.

Sibal said the brother and father of one of the women was killed and stressed that what confidence do you have in a state which is supposed to protect its citizens? We need an agency having the confidence of the people, it is not about the CBI.

Mehta said one of the prayers in the plea filed by two women is that the apex court monitors the situation and "the government of India has no objection to it". The affidavits filed by the two survivors state they were handed over to the frenzied mob by the cops.

Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani submitted that he will personally monitor the CBI probe into the Manipur video case, and said that partisan political interventions will only complicate the matter before the court.

Posers by SC-The top court asked AG, how many FIRs on violence against women have been registered since May 3? The viral video case isn't the only incident of violence against women in the state. The top court said there must a wider mechanism in place to prevent such incidents and take actions.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising contended that there should be a high-powered committee to visit the violence-hit state and record statements of survivors. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi, requested the court to set up an SIT comprising retired senior police officers and claimed that there is a conspiracy to commit rapes and there have been many such instances. Gonsalves requested the apex court not to include any cop from Manipur in the SIT and also opposed a CBI probe.

Last week, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court that the case of a deplorable video from Manipur, which showed two women being paraded naked by a mob, will be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and stressed that its approach is “zero tolerance towards any crimes against women.”

The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had told the Attorney General and Solicitor General that the court was “deeply disturbed” by a video showing two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted in the violence-hit Manipur. The Chief Justice gave the Centre and Manipur government an ultimatum to either bring the perpetrators to book or else the judiciary will take action.

The Manipur government has arrested 7 accused in the case and they are in police custody.

Ajay Kumar Bhalla, secretary Ministry of Home Affairs in affidavit filed in the apex court, said, “The approach of the Central Government is of zero tolerance towards any crimes against women” and cited it as one of the reasons why it (with consent from the state government) has taken a decision to entrust the investigation to an independent investigating agency i.e. CBI.

The affidavit said the Centre also believes that not only the investigation should be completed at the earliest but the trial should also be conducted in a time bound manner which must take place outside the State of Manipur.