TWO women were paraded down the street naked in India after being sexually assaulted by a large mob, police say.
The harrowing footage of the alleged attacks by hundreds of men on the young women has triggered outrage and protests across the violence-stricken state of Manipur.
Police say that the assault on the women occurred on May 4, but the video went viral late on Wednesday despite internet being largely blocked inside the state.
It shows two naked women being surrounded by scores of young men – alleged to be near 1000 – who groped them and dragged them to a field.
A police complaint alleges one woman was gang raped and two other male family members were killed, before the mob went on to burn down their village.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) condemned the attack on the woman as “sickening” and alleged that one woman was gang raped.
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Furious protesters have taken to the streets to denounce the horror attack and call an end to the violence in the northeastern state.
Congresswomen and women's organisations have led the protests and demanded the resignation of Manipur's Chief Minister, Biren Singh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the incident had "shamed India" and that "no guilty will be spared".
"I assure the nation, the law will take its course with all its might.
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"What happened with the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven," he said, breaking more than two months of silence over deadly ethnic clashes in India's northeast.
According to a police complaint filed on May 18, the two women were part of a family attacked by a mob of between 800-1000 men.
The family were said to be fleeing the attack on their village through the forest when they met local police who said they would take them to safety.
The compliant claims that they were: “blocked on the way by a mob and snatched from the custody of the police team".
A 56-year-old was said to have been killed on the spot as his three female family members were forced to strip.
A 21-year-old woman in the group was reportedly "brutally gang raped in broad daylight".
Her “younger brother tried to defend his sister’s modesty and life but he was murdered by members of the mob on the spot,” it adds.
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh said that arrests had been made, without specifying the number of people who were apprehended.
"A thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment," Singh said.
The violence depicted in the video was emblematic of the near-civil war in Manipur, a state of 3.7 million tucked in the mountains near India's border with Myanmar.
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At least 130 have been killed and 60,000 have been displaced after ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May.
The two warring factions have also formed armed militias and isolated villages are regularly raked with gunfire.
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