The images of two women walking around naked in the streets of a village in the state of Manipur after being gang-raped by a group of men have shocked the world.

According to the local media and social media in India, the brutal sexual assault was on Christian women, who were constantly held up as an example.

Already, the state police have made at least one arrest of a man, identified from the videos, while an unknown number of men have been taken into custody.

“A thorough investigation is underway and we will ensure that strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including consideration of the possibility of (imposing) the death penalty,” state Chief Minister Biren Singh said.

At least 80 people have died and more than 40,000 have fled their homes after clashes broke out in early May between ethnic groups in Manipur.

Modi: “regrettable” sexual assault in Manipur

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described sexual assault on women in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur as “reprehensible” and asked the heads of state governments to take measures to guarantee women’s safety.

Prime Minister Modi added that this incident filled his heart with sadness and anger. “Every civil society should be ashamed of this,” he said before a parliamentary session.

The Supreme Court of India announced that it was deeply disturbed by these images and asked the government to inform it of the steps taken to arrest the perpetrators and to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

“In a constitutional democracy this is unacceptable,” said India’s Justice Minister Dhananjaya Yeshwad Chandrasud.