Thousands protest mob assault of women who were paraded naked in remote Indian border state

By ASHOK SHARMA and SHONAL GANGULY
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of people, mostly women, have held a massive sit-in in India’s violence-wracked northeastern state of Manipur to demand the immediate arrest of anyone who took part in the May assault of two women who were paraded around naked and molested by a mob. Leaders of religious and women’s groups addressed the nearly 15,000 protesters on Saturday and called for the firing of Biren Singh, the top elected official in the state where more than 130 people have been killed since violence between two dominant ethnic groups erupted in early May. Video of the assault of the two women, who say they were raped and whose two male family members were killed by the mob, has sparked widespread outrage.