Manipur Man Burnt Alive: Govt Says Incident Linked To Women Paraded Naked, Recommends CBI Probe

The video of the burning guy was filmed on May 4, the same day that two women were paraded nude by a crowd, which provoked nationwide anger when it was released in July.

Representational Image.

Source : PTI

A video apparently showing a man being burned in Manipur went viral on Monday, prompting a tribal group to denounce the atrocity, with the government seeking a CBI investigation, claiming it is connected to the event in which two women were paraded nude, news agency PTI reported. The video of the burning guy was filmed on May 4, the same day that two women were paraded nude by a crowd, which provoked nationwide anger when it was released in July. Manipur's ethnic war began on May 3.

Several people on social media sites posted a seven-second video on Sunday showing a guy, seemingly dead, wearing in a black T-shirt and camouflage trousers being burned, as words in a local language and gunshots can be heard in the background.

 “We have verified the incident and found out that it had happened on May 4. The body has been identified and it is now in a hospital. It is linked to the incident of two women being paraded naked," Security Advisor Kuldeep Singh was quoted by PTI in its report. 

He stated the deceased was from a hamlet in Kangpokpi district but did not say where the event happened.

According to the security advisor, Director General of Police Rajiv Singh has advised that the case be turned over to the CBI, which is probing a number of incidences of violence in the northeastern state.

The central agency is also investigating the event in which the ladies were exhibited naked.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a Churachandpur-based conglomeration of Manipur's acknowledged tribes, denounced the "shocking and barbaric incident" on Monday.

 “The selective application of justice further reinforces our demand for a separate administration. The ITLF reiterates its call for a separate administration,” the tribal body's statement was quoted by PTI in its report.

The Kuki-Zo community has been calling for a separate administration for the tribe. Following the deadly battles between Meiteis and tribals, ten tribal MLAs from Manipur's Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group have requested the Centre to establish a separate administration for their tribe. The demand has been denied by Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

"We searched several places in districts like Churachandpur, Imphal East and West, Kakching and Thoubal. Eleven sophisticated weapons and 20 rounds of ammunition, 2 kg of gunpowder, one HE grenade and empty magazines were recovered," the security advisor stated.

Since May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was staged in the hill areas to oppose the Meitei community's desire for Scheduled Tribe (ST) classification, more than 180 people have been slain.