In a shocking charge, the CBI has alleged that personnel from the Manipur Police allegedly drove the two women to a mob of around 1,000 people, which stripped and paraded them before they were gang-raped, in an incident that shook the nation. The crime, which occurred on May 4 last year – just a day after ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kukis – had come to light after videos began being circulated in July.

In its chargesheet filed in October, which has come to light a few days before the anniversary of the start of the violence, the central agency has also said that the mob had attacked a third woman belonging to the same family and tried to strip her, but failed because she was holding on tightly to her young granddaughter.

She managed to escape the clutches of the mob after the group attacking her went towards the first two survivors – one in her 40s and the other in her 20s – who were being attacked in some paddy fields.

All three women had sought the help of police personnel present at the spot, but were left at the mob’s mercy, the agency said in the chargesheet.

Heavily Armed

According to a report by news agency PTI, the women, one of whom was the wife of a Kargil war veteran, pleaded with the police personnel to drive them to a safe location but were allegedly told that “there was no key” for the vehicle. They later drove them right to the mob and refused to go any further, the chargesheet said.

The CBI filed its chargesheet against six accused in the case and a report against a child in conflict with the law (CCL) before the Special CBI judge in Guwahati on October 16.

The document states that the mob that the women were running from was 900-1,000 people strong and many of its members carried sophisticated weapons like AK, SLR, INSAS and .303 rifles. The mob allegedly “burnt to the ground” all the houses of the women’s village, B Phainom in Kangpokpi district, after vandalising them.

Group Split Up

While the village was being ransacked, the three women and seven others ran into the Haokhongching forest nearby to hide from the mob, but were spotted. One group from the mob took two men and two women with them, another captured the third victim and her granddaughter while the third took the village chief, another man and his two daughters.

The chargesheet states that one of the two women who was gang-raped and paraded naked was unwell and had to be carried on the backs of male members of the family as they proceeded to the Chakhama village, which is about four km from theirs.

The mob’s ranks swelled as others from a nearby village joined the group and all of them started thrashing the victims. At this time, some people in the mob told the women there was a police vehicle parked near the road and they should go there and seek help, officials told PTI.

The report said the two women and a man managed to get inside the vehicle, a Gypsy, in which two police personnel and a driver were sitting while three to four personnel stood outside.

The man pleaded with the driver to take them to a safe place but was told that “there was no key”. Later, the driver drove the Gypsy straight to the mob and stopped it in front of them. The victims begged the police personnel to drive them to safety, but to no avail.

Man In Vehicle Killed

The violent mob headed toward the vehicle and the police personnel fled. By this time, the rioters had already killed the father of the man who was sitting in the Gypsy and he was also later bludgeoned to death, the CBI chargesheet stated. Their bodies were thrown on a dry riverbed near the village.

The two survivors were pulled out of the Gypsy, stripped and paraded naked. They were later gang-raped. The third woman, “crying inconsolably”, ran towards another village and was reunited with her family the next day.

The CBI has chargesheeted Huirem Herodas Meitei, Arun Kungongbam, Ningombam Tomba Singh, Yumlemban Jiban Singh, Pukrihongbam Surunjoy Meiti and Nameirakpam Kiran Meiti and a report has been filed against a juvenile.

“Investigation has established that the accused individuals, part of ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis, conspired with a large group of unidentified miscreants from the Meitei community to execute a series of preplanned criminal acts, including violence, arson, sexual assault, and murder with a clear intent,” the chargesheet said.

“Their deliberate actions which specifically targeted victims from the tribal community, included threats, violence and various unlawful acts, aimed at promoting enmity between different groups,” it added.

The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those pertaining to gang rape, murder, outraging the modesty of a woman and criminal conspiracy, the CBI has said.

The founding family of 127-year-old Godrej Group, which spans from soaps and home appliances to real estate, has reached an agreement to split the conglomerate, with Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir keeping Godrej Industries that has five listed firms, while cousins Jamshyd and Smita getting unlisted Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates as well as a land bank, including prime property in Mumbai.

The group has been split between two branches of the founding family, with Adi Godrej (82) and his brother Nadir (73) on one side and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej (75) and Smita Godrej Crishna (74) on the other, according to a statement issued by the group.

Godrej Enterprises Group — comprising Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates that have a presence across multiple industries spanning aerospace and aviation to defence, furniture and IT software — will be controlled by Jamshyd Godrej as chairperson and managing director. His sister Smita’s daughter Nyrika Holkar, 42, will be the executive director.

Their families will control this arm that also will hold the land bank, including 3,400 acres of prime land in Mumbai.

Godrej Industries Group — which includes the listed companies – Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences — will have Nadir Godrej as chairperson and will be controlled by Adi, Nadir and their immediate families.

Pirojsha Godrej, 42, son of Adi, will be the executive vice chairperson of GIG and will succeed Nadir as the chairperson in August 2026, the statement said.

In the statement, the Godrej family termed the split as “an ownership realignment” of the shareholdings in the Godrej companies.

“The realignment has been arrived at in a respectful and mindful way to maintain harmony and to better align ownership in acknowledgement of the differing visions of the Godrej family members,” it said.

“This will help maximize strategic direction, focus, and agility, and will accelerate the process of creating long-term value for shareholders and all other stakeholders.” Both Groups will continue to use the Godrej brand and are committed to growing and strengthening their shared heritage.

Lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur Ardeshir Godrej and his brother in 1897 succeeded at locksmithing after failed ventures into hand-fashioned medical devices.

Ardeshir did not have any children, and so the group was inherited by his younger brother Pirojsha. Pirojsha had four children – Sohrab, Dosa, Burjor and Naval.

Over the years, the helm of the group came to the children of Burjor (Adi and Nadir) and Naval (Jamshyd and Smita) as Sohrab had no children while Dosa had one child Rishad, who had no children.

To enable the split, the two sides quit the boards of companies in rival camps. So, Adi and Nadir Godrej resigned from the Godrej & Boyce Board, while Jamshyd Godrej left his seat on the boards of GCPL and Godrej Properties.

Unconfirmed reports say Adi and Nadir Godrej will divest their stakes in Godrej & Boyce to the other branch. Jamshyd Godrej and his side of the family will transfer interests in Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) and Godrej Properties to their cousins through a family arrangement.

Real estate worth crores of rupees, mostly in prime land in Mumbai suburbs, will remain under Godrej & Boyce (G&B), and a separate agreement will be worked out to govern the ownership rights.

It owns 3,400 acres of land in Mumbai, including a 3,000-acre parcel in Vikhroli, Mumbai. The Vikhroli land by some estimates has a development potential of over Rs 1 lakh crore. It can develop 1,000 acres, while about 1,750 acres are covered with mangroves and is the destination of rare plants and birds. About 300 acres of land have already been encroached upon.

The Vikhroli property was bought by Pirojsha at a public auction from the Bombay High Court receiver in 1941-42. It was previously owned by a Parsi merchant Framjee Banaji, who bought it from the East India Company in the 1830s.

Adi is currently chairman of Godrej Group. His brother Nadir is chairman of Godrej Industries and Godrej Agrovet. Their cousin Jamshyd is chairman of the unlisted Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing company. His sister Smita Crishna and Rishad Godrej also hold a stake in Godrej & Boyce, which owns most of the property in Vikhroli.

A couple of years back, Jamshyd roped in investment banker Nimesh Kampani and lawyer Zia Mody to advise him on separating the land ownership. Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Uday Kotak and Cyril Shroff of legal firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas were assisting Adi.

According to the statement, the realignment will be implemented after the relevant regulatory approvals have been obtained.

“Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG) comprises Godrej & Boyce (G&B) and its affiliates, which have a presence across multiple industries spanning aerospace, aviation, defence, engines and motors, energy, security, building materials, construction, green building consulting, EPC services, intralogistics, healthcare equipment, durables, furniture, interior design, architectural fittings, IT, software as well as infrastructure solutions.

“This group will now be controlled by Jamshyd Godrej, chairperson and managing director, Nyrika Holkar, Executive Director, and their immediate families,” it said.

Godrej Industries Group (GIG), which includes the listed companies, Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences will have Nadir Godrej as Chairperson and will be controlled by Adi Godrej, Nadir Godrej, and their immediate families.

“Pirojsha Godrej will be the Executive Vice Chairperson of GIG and will succeed Nadir Godrej as the Chairperson in August 2026,” it said.

Commenting on the future outlook, Jamshyd Godrej said: “Since 1897, Godrej & Boyce has always been driven by the strong purpose of nation building. With this future-facing family agreement now in place, we can further drive our growth aspirations with fewer complexities and focus on leveraging our core strengths in high-tech engineering and design-led innovation across our strong portfolio of strategic, consumer and emerging businesses”.

Nadir Godrej said, “Godrej was founded in 1897 to help build economic independence for India. This deep purpose of innovating for a cause – the values of trust and respect and the belief in trusteeship and making communities that the companies operate in stronger and better – continue to form the bedrock of who we are 125 years later. We look forward to building on this legacy with focus and agility”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Minister Rajeev Chansekhar said today that the deep fake video on his cabinet colleague Amit Shah is a “deliberate violation of the law” by the Congress and appears to be part of a pattern, indicating it is a strategy. The minister also expressed shock that while efforts to disrupt the election can be made from across the border, or by Khalistanis from Canada, it was inconceivable that a national party would stoop to it.

“I expect the elements in Canada to do this. I expect people in Pakistan to do, I expect people in the northern country to do this. But I would have never thought that in such a brazen manner, a national political party would get so desperate that they will also start editing videos and distorting the truth to push a line,” he added.

On why he thinks it is a strategy of the Congress, the minister cited an incident in Kerala.

“Just a few weeks ago in Kerala, a Congress party worker morphed an image of me along with somebody else, to do something that is absolutely in the realm of misinformation and life. So this is not some isolated incident happening,” he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

“This seems to be a pattern. And this seems to be a concerted strategy on part of the Congress because they are left with no other option but to lie their way and gain some votes,” he added.

Three persons — one of them from Gujarat — have already been arrested for the doctored video that tried to show the Union home minister saying he would remove reservations —  which the Congress alleges is a BJP plan, to be implemented if they achieving the targetted 400-majority in the Lok Sabha. The Delhi Police has also summoned Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for questioning in the case.

Amid the national election, the video was allegedly shared by the official X handle of Telangana Congress, after which many party leaders re-posted it.

The deep-fake video attempted to portray Mr Shah talking about scrapping all reservations, while he was actually referring to removing quota only for Muslims on religious grounds in Telangana. The BJP had scrapped such a quota in Karnataka before it lost power to the Congress.

At a press conference later, Mr Shah played both videos to show what he actually said and what the doctored content projected.

Declaring that the people involved will be have to face action, Mr Chandrasekhar said it was “shocking is that there is a Chief Minister who is party to it and there is a national party or the oldest national party, party to it”.