Modi addressed the situation in the state for the first time on Thursday, saying: “My heart is filled with grief and anger. The horrific footage emerged more than two months after the incident took place ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur triggered state-wide internet restrictions on May 3. The women appear to be being groped and sexually assaulted while surrounded by a mob of men, many brandishing long canes or sticks as weapons. The video, which has been seen by CNN, shows two terrified women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of clothed men. Authorities are interrogating more than three dozen men in relation to the apparent sexual assault, Reuters reported. Officials said Thursday that four people have been arrested and that police raids are ongoing. Manipur Police described the incident on Twitter as “a case of abduction, gang rape and murder” on Wednesday. The viral video depicts an incident from May 4, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) but police only made arrests once the footage went online this week. A graphic video showing two women forced by a mob to walk naked in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has sparked outrage after it emerged on social media and prompted the country’s leader Narendra Modi to break his silence on the months-long inter-ethnic conflict tearing the state apart.
