Imphal: Four India Reserve Battalion personnel have been suspended in Manipur for allegedly forcing a girl and her boyfriend to take part in an “obscene act” and then uploading the picture on Internet in Churachandpur district, deputy chief minister Gaikhangam said on Monday.
Terming the act as “intolerable”, Gaikhangam, who holds the home portfolio, told the Assembly that serious action would be taken against them. “The four IRB personnel, including three havildars and one rifleman, have been suspended and are now in police custody,” he said.
Official reports from the interior district said the girl and her boyfriend were roaming around picturesque Khuga dam complex on Sunday when they were caught by the four IRB personnel.
The duo told the security men that they were lovers and if they suspected anything wrong, they asked the IRB personnel to take them to nearby Churachandpur police station for questioning, the reports said.
Instead the four men assaulted the two and forced them to take part in an “obscene act” and the pictures were then uploaded by the four personnel on the internet, the reports said.
The incident enraged the local inhabitants who thronged the police station to hand over the four to the public, the reports said. Three persons were injured when the police opened fire and burst tear gas shells to disperse the mob, the reports said.
The minister said the process was on to take action against the four IRB personnel as per provisions of the law. The pictures have been removed from the internet, the reports said.
Even in the past people have accused the security personnel of being hostile on more than one occassion and the latest episode only adds to the sour relation between the men-in-uniform and the civilians in the state. (PTI)