India's federal Government on Friday requested that the Supreme Court transfer the trial in the Manipur violence case outside the state so that the probe in the matter could be done in a timely manner.
A request was also placed in front of the top court seeking order for completion of the trial of case, related to the viral video where two women were paraded naked and sexually assaulted and allegedly gang raped, in six months.
Media outlets report, quoting sources, that the affidavit was filed by federal Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, in a message to the court that the central government is treating the case with the utmost seriousness.
the Manipur State Government and the federal Home Ministry had recommended a probe into the incident by the top probe agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The apex court was scheduled to hear the petitions over the violence in the northeastern state from today. However, the hearing couldn’t start as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud (who will be heading the bench) wasn’t available.
Violence in Manipur
So far, more than 150 people have died in violence-hit Manipur while several have been injured.
The violence in the state erupted on May 3 after clashes between two tribal communities -- the Kukis and Meities. However, the widespread public outrage erupted across the country after the video of the two tribal women went viral on July 19.
It is being said that the video is of an incident which actually occurred on May 4. So far, seven people have been arrested in connection to the case.
Ever since the video went viral, the opposition parties of the country have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
However, the government has said that it is ready to discuss the situation in Manipur and federal Home Minister Amit Shah will give the statement. Due to the impasse over the Manipur violence, the proceedings of the House have been disrupted since the session began on July 20.