No response from Manipur authorities despite reaching out thrice in three months, says NCW chief

National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma on Friday said that she had reached out to the Manipur government on several cases of violence against women in Manipur, but received no response.

Sharma’s response came after reports have emerged that the NCW was sent complaints of the case of gangrape of Kuki women in Manipur more than a month ago, but it did not take appropriate action. The Commission’s letters to the DGP and chief secretary of Manipur, however, did not mention rape.

Speaking to reporters, Sharma said that the NCW had written to Manipur chief secretary Vineet Joshi on three occasions, without receiving any reply. A letter was sent on May 29, another on June 19 and one on July 20. On July 20, Sharma also wrote to the DGP Rajiv Singh.

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“We are an advisory body, and we took cognisance of the incident and asked them to take action; we do not have any reply from them,” Sharma said. She added that some of the complaints came from abroad and so they needed time to verify the authenticity.

In both the May 29 and June 19 letters, Sharma wrote that women are “the most adversely affected” in the conflict, and so, “it becomes extremely pivotal that the safety and security of women is ensured”.

On July 20, Sharma wrote to the DGP and chief secretary about the video, saying that the video is “horrific”, “extremely disturbing” and “condemnable in the strongest possible words”. She demanded a detailed report on the matter within 4 days from Joshi as well as DGP Singh.