Harbhajan Singh Breaks Silence On Manipur Incident, Says ‘Want Capital Punishment For Guilty’

Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian cricketer to speak out publicly on the Manipur incident where two women were gangraped and paraded naked.

New Delhi: Amid calls from netizens on why the Indian cricketing fraternity has kept mum on the recent Manipur incident where two Manipuri women were gang raped and paraded naked, former off-spinner and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh finally broken his silence and demanded capital punishment for all those involved.

The state of Manipur has been in the headlines for few months due to the communal violence and more tension mounted on the hills after a video from May 4 surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side.

“If I say I am angry, it’s an understatement. I am numb with rage. I am ashamed today after what happened in Manipur. If the perpetrators of this ghastly crime aren’t brought to the book and handed capital punishment, we should stop calling ourselves human. It makes me sick that this has happened. Enough is Enough. Govt MUST act,” Harbhajan tweeted on Thursday.

If I say I am angry, it’s an understatement. I am numb with rage. I am ashamed today after what happened in Manipur. If the perpetrators of this ghastly crime aren’t brought to the book and handed capital punishment, we should stop calling ourselves human. It makes me sick that…

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 20, 2023

Harbhajan is one of the earliest to react from the sporting fraternity as not too many sportspersons have commented on the incident as yet. Police in Manipur said a case of abduction, gang-rape and murder has been registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unidentified armed persons.

They said an all-out effort is on to arrest the culprits at the earliest. More than 150 people have lost their lives and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribal people, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.