Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Saturday alleged that the Manipur government has taken a U-turn and denied her permission to visit the violence-hit northeast state for interaction with survivors of sexual violence.
In a tweet, she called the decision ‘shocking and absurd’, while also questioning the reason behind it. Swati Maliwal was supposed to visit Manipur, rocked by ethnic violence, on July 23, Sunday.
“After telling me I can come to Manipur, 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗨 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲. This is shocking and absurd. Why can’t I meet survivors of sexual violence? I have already booked my tickets after discussing with them. Why try and stop me???" the DCW chief tweeted.
On Friday, she wrote to the director general of police (DGP) of Manipur on her plans to visit the strife-torn state following the surfacing of a video that showed two women being paraded naked by members of a rival community. Maliwal has even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take steps in the matter.
In her letter to the Manipur DGP, she said she plans to visit the state on July 23 to assess the situation there and submit a fact-finding report. Maliwal was scheduled to be in the state till July 30.
Two Kuki women were paraded naked by a mob on May 4 in the Thoubal district of Manipur and subsequently gang-raped. Almost two months after the incident, the video went viral on social media, triggering anger across the country and a sharp comment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reportedly, the incident occurred soon after clashes in Churachandpur where the Kuki community had protested against a proposal to grant scheduled tribe status to the dominant Meitei community.
Manipur Police later took suo moto cognizance of the video on July 19 and informed that a case had been registered on charges of abduction, gang rape, and murder at the Nongpok Sekmai police station in the Thoubal district.
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