It seems inconceivable that anyone in power in the State of Manipur was not aware of the atrocities before the video went public last week. Think about this. A thousand-strong armed mob sets fire to homes and huts in village after village, just 30 kilometres from Imphal, the state capital. That is shorter than the distance between the opposite ends of Delhi. Only three kilometres separated the place where the women were tortured and paraded from the checkpoint. That is less than the distance separating the two ends of the Central Vista. Are we to think that the decision-makers were unaware of what was going on? Apart from keeping silent and doing nothing, what did they do? Is it stupidity or a lack of intelligence?
It has now been revealed that the ladies and men were with the police when the savages abducted them. The police station was around two kilometres away from them. Are we to think that the police were unaware of the situation? What did they do if they were aware of what was happening? Did they let “higher-ups” know? If so, what were the ‘higher-ups’ supposed to do? Why not, if not? Are the cops just as responsible, if not more so? We’ll never find out in this ghastly cover-up.
The government conveniently ordered the shutdown of the internet. Why did the internet have to be taken down if nothing nefarious was occurring? It is clear that the administration sought to erect an iron curtain because it was aware of the horror. The video may have appeared the same day and forced a complacent administration to act if the day’s events had been made public and the illegal closure had not occurred. Take into account the bigger implications of this conspiracy of silence: in Manipur, a scenario like a civil war was created and persisted for many weeks, resulting in roughly 150 fatalities, more than 300 injuries, and more than 50,000 displaced people. Not a single condemning or painful word was spoken. I assume that although speech is silver, silence is brilliant.
The administration in Imphal, which is just around 30 km away, remained blissfully uninformed of the parade of nude women, the gang rape, and the killings until today.
The attempt to kill the messenger is part of the ongoing conspiracy of silence. The objectionable video has been removed by Twitter (how did it surface?). and we are aware of what will occur if they do not. Award-winning journalist Barkha Dutt has also received some undesirable orders from the relevant authorities.
On May 18, almost two weeks after the horrifying event, someone summoned the fortitude to formally report the occurrence to the authorities in the Kangkokpi area. The cops simply recorded the complaint; nothing further was done. What’s new—these things happen in a setting akin to a civil war? Well, shouldn’t the state’s home minister take action if there is a scenario resembling a civil war there? If not, should the chief minister take action? What if, as in this instance, the home minister and chief minister are one and the same? Who should be held accountable? The buck must stop someplace; thus, someone must bear the responsibility, but where?
Perhaps the individual who tore up the resignation letter should be held accountable. Quite a bad thing to do. It appears like someone wants to quit but is unable to do so. Where is the capacity for action? If a person doesn’t want to continue serving as chief minister, how can anyone force him to do so? A deputy chief minister can be anyone, but who can hold such a position? Heavens!
After more than a month, on June 21, the complaint and zero FIR filed on May 18 were finally received by the jurisdictional police station in the Thoubal district. For tiny mercies, thank God, it has been recorded. Do you recall when champion wrestlers had to knock on the Supreme Court’s doors to get their complaints filed as formal police reports?
The statute makes no mention of the police’s obligation to look into a complaint once an FIR is filed, much less to do so objectively and impartially. Since the FIR had been filed, the police were not required by law to look into the incident, and even if they did, it was totally at their own leisure. Because of this, no one at the Thoubal district police station felt that it was essential to conduct an investigation, and the FIR remained unopened until over a month later, when a video of the atrocity appeared
Currently, the cops have leapt into action like Tarzan and have detained a number of savages. Perhaps other ladies who didn’t trust the police decided to enforce the law on their own by setting the main accused’s home on fire. They most likely got the idea from the bulldozer justice that is being applied in other regions of the nation, although the women weren’t carrying a bulldozer. On the basis of national security or after being labelled as terrorists, they can be detained for arson. Everything is conceivable.
Finding the truth is impossible. So what’s next? The truth won’t ever be revealed. A Supreme Court of India practising attorney named Deeksha Dwivedi sought information on the massacre in Manipur. What’s this? She has received arrest threats and has to file a request for a restraining order with the Supreme Court. The timing of the accused’s release on bond is uncertain, but it seems likely that they will receive it or at least show some sympathy. Do you recall the rapists and killers involved in the Bilkis Bano case? After gaining independence, they would get garlands and treats as a reward for educating women.
