Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, pledged to punish a mob after viral video footage showed them stripping two Christian women and parading them naked around a village in the state of Manipur, sparking outrage.
The attack included the gang rape of one of the women, who have become known as “the daughters of Manipur”.
“The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven,” Mr Modi told reporters.
Without referring to the violence directly, he urged the heads of state governments to ensure the safety of women and said the incident was “shameful for any civilized nation”. He added: “My heart is filled with pain and anger.”
The incident occurred the day after violent scuffles between the majority Hindu Meitei and minority Christian Kuki-Zo communities in the region of Manipur, which is led by the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Ethnic violence in the north-eastern state has killed at least 120 people, most of them Kuki.
Opposition parties have previously accused Mr Modi of choosing to stay silent on the violence.
The 26-second footage was filmed two months ago but but has only emerged now because an internet blackout was imposed in the state. In it, the mob can be seen molesting and assaulting the two women as they are led towards an empty field.
The Meitei community accounts for more than half of Manipur’s 3.5 million population, who mostly reside in Imphal, the capital city. The minority Kuki-Zo tribe inhabit the surrounding hill districts. More than 60,000 people have been displaced, with nearly 250 churches burnt and hundreds of houses destroyed.
The Kuki-Zo community opposes demands for a proportion of public jobs and college places to be reserved for Meitei people. It also fears that the Meitei might be allowed to acquire land in areas currently reserved for them and other tribal groups.
According to the police complaint, a 21-year-old woman reported being the victim of a gang rape while a 42-year-old said she had been molested and assaulted. The village head said the father and brother of one of the women were killed by the gang as they tried to protect her.
The complaint says the mob of up to 1,000 men, some of whom carried weapons, snatched three women in total.
The 21-year-old victim told local media: “The police were there with the mob which was attacking our village. The police picked us up from near home and took us a little away from the village and left us on the road with the mob. We were given to them by police.”
On Thursday, police arrested a 32-year-old Meitei man, Khuirem Herodas, in relation to the assault.
N Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, who is a Meitei, promised a thorough investigation and strict action against all perpetrators, with the possibility of capital punishment being considered.
