A married Meitei woman in Manipur filed a police complaint on Wednesday alleging that she was gang-raped on the evening of May 3 while fleeing the Kuki-majority Churachandpur district with a child on her back.
According to the “zero FIR” registered by the women’s police station in Bishnupur district at 4.30pm on Wednesday, a case has been registered based on the complaint of the 37-year-old woman under IPC sections that deal with gang rape, assault or criminal force used with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman, criminal conspiracy and acts in furtherance of common intention.
The alleged crime took place around 6.30pm on May 3 at Khumujamba Meitei Leikai in neighbouring Churachandpur district.
The case was transferred to the officer-in-charge of the women’s police station in Churachandpur on Wednesday since the place of occurrence falls under its jurisdiction. A zero FIR can be filed at any police station irrespective of where the alleged offence has been committed.
A copy of the zero FIR surfaced on social media on Thursday.
In her complaint, the woman said she was fleeing for her life with her sister-in-law, two sons and her “niece on my back” after Kuki miscreants burnt down her house and those of her neighbours. She said she fell down after running for about half a kilometre.
“My sister-in-law came back running towards me and picked up my niece from my back and ran along with my two sons as I insisted. Subsequently, some 5/6 Kuki miscreants got hold of me,” the one-page statement to the police says.
“Despite my resistance, I was forcefully pinned down. After this, the said men started sexually assaulting me.... There was no help coming from anybody despite my cries. Thereafter some more Kuki miscreants joined them. At that time I lost consciousness. Later when I regained consciousness, I found myself in a house surrounded by some Meitei people,” the statement states.
The woman said in her statement that she did not tell anyone about the incident earlier because of her “family’s honour and dignity and the fear of social ostracism”.
Officials have confirmed the complaint but did not share details as the case is sensitive.