Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke silence on the Manipur crisis on Thursday. Addressing media ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament, PM Modi said that he is “pained by what has happened in Manipur.” The PM vowed action against the accused and said that guilty won’t be spared. He also said that the honour of daughters of the country must be protected. The statement came after a two-month-old video showing sexual assault of two women went viral on social media.

Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also took suo motu cognizance of the incident. CJI DY Chandrachud said that this was simply unacceptable. The top court said that the incident is a gross violation of Constitution. The top court has directed both Central and state government to take urgent measure and apprise the Supreme Court on action taken in this regard.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh took to Twitter to express his anguish and gave update on the case. Singh said that the accused, who has been identified from the video, has been arrested. He also said that a detailed probe is underway. The CM further added that the state government is also considering a ‘possibility’ of capital punishment for the accused in the case.

What happened on May 4?

The two women, who belong to Kuki-Zomi community, were stripped and sexually assaulted by a mob on May 4 in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. This was a day after a massive violence broke out in the Northeastern state. However, the incident hit the national headlines today after the video went viral on social media. Earlier in morning, the government had issued notice to Twitter and other social media platforms to restrict the sharing of the Manipur video.