Before Manipur sexual assault video went viral, a bid to get the clip deleted from phones

According to a relative of Jiban from his village, Nongpok Sekmai Awang Leikai, in Thoubal district, “village seniors” knew he had shot the video and had it on his phone.

“He was advised many times by village seniors to delete the video and he kept telling us that he would. But he sent it to his cousin, who sent it to another friend. From that person, I think, the (Meitei radical group) Arambai Tenggol came to know about this. They came to the village sometime in June and there was a meeting with the village authorities and all the common people. All of us handed our phones over to the Arambai Tenggol people, who checked them and it was deleted from his (Jiban’s) device then,” said the relative.

Police have also arrested 19-year-old Yumlembam Nungsithou, Jiban’s cousin who he had sent the video to. While Jiban is a first semester student at Thoubal College, Nungsithoi worked in a mechanic shop. Both are sons of farmers.

Others arrested in connection with the case include the son of a retired government school principal, a worker in a tyre shop, and a daily wage labourer.

With the case now having been handed over to the CBI, the accused have found support from some in their village. On Tuesday afternoon, residents of Shikhong Bazaar sat in a public meeting in the community centre there, as part of a sit-in protest against the arrest of 29-year-old Arun Khundongbam, who makes a living by activating meters under a contractor in the locality.

His family – his father is a retired government school principal, while one of his brothers is part of the India Reserve Battalion and the other also has a government job – deny his involvement in the incident. On Tuesday, they called a civil society organisation to mobilise support to protest against his arrest.

The nearby village of Pechi Awang Leikai had drawn attention on July 20, when village leaders and local Meira Paibis set fire to the home of 32-year-old Huirem Herodash Meitei, the first person to be arrested in connection with this case. A worker in a tyre shop in Yairipok, he has been named as the main accused by the police.

“This news became international. We were very angry and saddened. What will people think of us? It brought shame to our village. We were humiliated in front of all of India, even the Prime Minister spoke about it. We felt that we had to do something to show our disapproval,” said a village leader, explaining why the house was burnt. However, he said, they are now planning on building a new house for the accused’s family once the dust settles after the trial. The wife and three children of the accused are currently staying with a relative elsewhere.

The other person to have been arrested from the village is Ningombam Tomba Singh (21), a daily wage worker.

However, the village leader does not discount the possibility that there were many more men from the village who were part of the mob. “Not just from this village but from all the nearby villages. There were 1,000s, all the young men, who had all gathered together and were moving around looking for revenge,” he said.

The “revenge” in question was for rumours of the rape of Meitei nurses in Churachandpur Medical College, which were confirmed to be fake by the then DGP P Doungel on May 5.

“On May 3 night, we had heard about the rape of Meitei doctors and nurses in Churachandpur and on that day (May 4), a lot of people had gotten angry and gathered. He also went along with them but we had no idea what was happening,” said Echan Khangembam, Tomba’s elder sister.