Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the alleged sexual assault of women in Manipur state as "shameful" and promised tough action, his first comments on ethnic clashes in the remote northeast which have killed at least 125 people.
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The clashes began in early May and much of the violence was put down by the middle of that month.
However, sporadic violence and killings resumed soon afterward and the state of 3.2 million people, which shares a border with Myanmar, has remained tense since. Hundreds have been injured and more than 40,000 have fled their homes.
Video: Reuters/India PM Modi calls alleged Manipur sexual assault 'shameful'
The violence began on May 3 after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the tribal Kuki people to the majority Meitei population as well.
Modi, who had not made any public remarks about the trouble in a state ruled by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), spoke a day after videos showing women being molested in Manipur surfaced and sparked national outrage.
The videos on social media purport to show two women paraded naked and assaulted on a street before what townspeople on the videos say was a gang rape.
