- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The government said it had a “zero-tolerance policy” towards crimes against women and urged the top court to direct the trial to be held outside the north-eastern state.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Indian home ministry on Thursday (27) told the country’s Supreme Court that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take over the probe into the controversial video of two women being paraded naked and groped by a mob in the north-eastern state of Manipur in May.
The video went viral on social media on July 19 and caused a massive uproar. Reactions even poured in from the US and amid condemnation from different quarters, prime minister Narendra Modi spoke out saying stern action would be taken against the culprits.
Even the top court talked tough and asked the government to take action. The ongoing monsoon session of the parliament was also affected as the opposition protested against the Modi government over the situation in Manipur where ethnic clashes have been taking place since May 3.
Speaking over handing of the case over to the CBI, the government said it had a “zero-tolerance policy” towards crimes against women and urged the top court to direct the trial to be held outside the north-eastern state.
In an affidavit presented by India’s home secretary Ajay Bhalla to the Supreme Court, the Modi government said the decision to hand over the case to the central probe agency was taken after consulting the government of Manipur, NDTV reported. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is also in power in the north-eastern state.
The state police has so far arrested seven people in connection to the case. However, the opposition was little convinced as steps on the horrific incident were taken more than two months after it happened.
In the affidavit, the Modi government said that justice should be delivered “so that it has a deterrent effect throughout the nation with respect to crimes against women”.
The affidavit also said that the Manipur government had recommended the transfer of the investigation to the CBI on May 26 and the home ministry approved the recommendation and forwarded it to the secretary of the department of personnel and training on Thursday.
