Unrelated Visuals Shared as Rally in Support of Manipur Viral Video Accused

The mass rally called for unity and peace in Manipur along with condemning narco-terrorism.

The rally in Manipur was held on Friday, 29 July. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

An image of a massive rally has gone viral, with social media users claiming that it shows people protesting against the arrest of people in the case of the sexual assault and parading of two Kuki women by a mob of men, allegedly from the Meitei community in Manipur.

Who shared it?: Several social media users, including columnist Ashok Swain shared the claim in a tweet, which has now been taken down.

The East Bangalore Congress Sevadal and digital news organisation Siasat Daily also shared the same claim.

An archive of the tweet can be found here. 

Quint Digital Media Limited

What is the truth?: Between 28-29 July, two separate rallies were organised under different banners in Manipur.

• One rally organissed by the Committee of Manipur Integrity (COCUMI) group was done to unite the conflict-torn state and end narco-terrorism allegedly done by the Chin-Kuki community in Manipur.

• The second, smaller rally was held in the Thoubal district in Manipur and was organised by the Apunba Club and Meira Phaibis against the arrest of the accused in the viral video case.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

How did we find out?: We zoomed into the banner of the image. It read, "Mass Rally Against Chin-Kuki Narco-Terrorism COCUMI."

To conclude the rally, the COCUMI passed a resolution with their list of demands. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

COCUMI Mass Rally:

• We found a news report from Imphal Free Press and a video by Tom TV about the massive rally held to unite Manipur and against Narco-Terrorism.

• The rally started from Thau Ground to Hapta Kangjeibung in Imphal, Manipur.

• This rally ended with the passing of a resolution to end the present conflict, conduct NRC and same administration for the whole of Manipur.

• We asked a member of the Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) that is associated with COCUMI, who confirmed that their rally was not in support of those arrested in the viral video case.

Apunba Club-Meira Paibais Rally in Thoubal District:

• The second rally was organised by the Apunba Club in Thoubal district of Manipur.

• A report on the second rally was published by the Imphal Free Press social media users shared with visuals of the previous rally, thus creating confusion. The report has now been deleted and a clarification was issued by the portal.

• The report said that the second rally witnessed placards such as, "Meiteis Want Peace, Kukis Want War" and "Government should control Kuki-dominated areas", amongst others.

Here is the link to the archive of the report by the IFP.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

• We also found a video by News9 on YouTube of the rally in Thoubal against the arrests in viral video case.

• The Quint has reached out to Thoubal Police to get a confirmation about the occurrence of such a rally in the district. The story will be updated as and when we get a response.

Manipur Viral Video Case: So far, seven arrests have been made in the Manipur viral video case that took place in May.

Conclusion: The image of the mass rally held by the COCUMI in Imphal is being shared with a false context.

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