Manipur parade incident: Man part of mob arrested; CM says culprits deserve capital punishment
Imphal, Jul 20: A man who was part of the mob that paraded naked two tribal women in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and was seen dragging one of them was arrested on Thursday as the incident of May 4 drew widespread condemnation.
Police said the arrested person was seen prominently directing the mob at B. Phainom village of Kangpokpi district in the 26-second video that surfaced on Wednesday.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the video, police last night said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder was registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unknown armed men and that all-out efforts were on to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
During the night-long raids, supervised by senior IPS officers, the person identified as Huirem Heradash Singh, age 32, was arrested from Thoubal district while a manhunt has been launched to nab others.
The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by the mob comprising the majority community.
Meanwhile, villagers set the house of accused of Heradash Singh on fire and have also ostracised his family.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh termed the incident as "inhuman" and said the culprits deserve a "capital punishment".
Expressing strong condemnation, he labelled it as a crime against humanity and maintained that his government would not remain silent on this heinous crime.
He said that immediately after seeing the video, he had directed the Cyber Crime Department to check its authenticity and also instructed officials to conduct a mass combing operation at the suspected areas to nab the culprits.
Singh further said his government was putting in all possible efforts to restore peace and normalcy in the state and talks have been held with various civil society organizations of different communities, businessmen, leaders of religious institutions as part this process.
"As we have lived together for a long time and must live together in future too, misunderstanding amongst communities can be sorted out and addressed with talks, so that we can live together again peacefully," he added.
Influential Meitei body - Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) - also issued a statement saying it strongly condemns "the barbaric and uncivilised act of violence on two ladies parading naked in broad daylight at a remote village in Manipur".
The statement said that COCOMI is trying all possible means to hunt down the culprits wherever they are.
"The entire Meitei community is in deep shame and anguish over the clip...COCOMI firmly believes that all those involved in the barbaric act will not be spared by the Meetei community in any ways and befitting punishment will surely be given to everyone involved in the crime," it said.
One of the eyewitnesses of the May 4 incident, Hahat Vaiphei, claimed the villagers of B Phainom thwarted a similar attempt by a mob the previous day.
"When we started to relocate from the village, we were caught by the mob. They dragged us away from the village as we made appeals to spare us," Vaiphei told a YouTube channel run from neighbouring Mizoram.
She said the mob forced the two women to parade naked before raping them.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
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Karnataka Milk Federation enters Delhi-NCR, offers competitive pricing on Nandini products
New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.
The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.
Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.
"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.
The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.
However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.
There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.
KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.
The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.
With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.
State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.
ದೇಶದ ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 21, 2024
ದೆಹಲಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಎಫ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಹಾಲು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟಗಳು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಂದಿನಿ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಪಂದನೆ ದೊರೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ನನಗಿದೆ.… pic.twitter.com/yUmTQknGzD
