The Kargil war veteran, whose wife was stripped and paraded naked in violence-hit Manipur on May 4, said that no one believed when they narrated the ordeal and that it was an act of God for the video to go viral so that the “truth comes out”.
His wife, and two other Kuki-Zomi community women, were stripped, paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob of men on the second day of violence (May 4). The video went viral on social media on July 19, triggering widespread condemnation across the nation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud too condemning the incident.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the former Army personnel said, “God must have made the video (of the sexual assault) go viral to ensure that the truth comes out”.
“Till then, no one from the police or government had even called us,” he added.
A zero FIR was registered in connection with the incident at the Saikul police station in Kangpokpi district on May 18 based on the man’s complaint.
However, he said, action should have been taken much earlier, but, “before the video, no one really believed us when we told them what had happened.”
The 65-year-old man spent his professional career in the Army spanning 30 years. He was 18 when he joined the Assam Regiment as a soldier and retired in the late 2000s as a subedar.
He had also taken part in several critical operations inside and outside the country – Op Rakshak (counter-terrorism operation in J&K) and Op Rhino across Assam, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Op Pawan in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. He is also a recipient of several medals including the Sainya Seva Medal, Op Vijay Medal, Videsh Seva Medal and a Special Service Medal.
Meanwhile, two of the victims and their families were living in the relief camps in Churachandpur, and after the video surfaced, which reveals the identity of the women, leaders of the tribe moved them to a “safe zone”.
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court last week, Secretary of Home Affairs Ajay Bhalla submitted that “due to resistance from civil society organisations in Churachandpur”, victims could not be approached by state authorities physically or via telephone.