The barbaric episode has defamed  not only the city of  Guwahati which is fast acquiring characters of a metropolitan city,  but also has raised questions in the mind of the people from the rest of the country about the security of our women folk in the region.

The entire state administration has been jerked awake to the dangerous paths the young people in Guwahati are following thanks to an unmonitored and unrestricted nightlife that comes alive after dusk inside about 128 pubs, bars and discotheques which continue to remain open well beyond the stipulated closing time of 10 P.M.

The credibility of the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who also holds the Home portfolio was at stake and heads were bound to roll. The incumbent city SSP A J Baruah was shunted out while Gogoi admitted that there must have been lapses on the part of the police in preventing such a barbaric assault on a woman on the street.

Police have identified a total of 17 accused involved in the crime of molesting the woman in public out of which 14 have so far been arrested including the TV journalist Gaurav Jyoti  Neog who recorded the crime as it was unfolding before him while ignoring his responsibility to make a distress call to police  to save the girl from much of her agony. He was arrested after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi vented his ire in public over the ‘failure of the scribe to call the police in time while discharging his professional duty of recording the unfolding the crime before him.

The victim of the molestation had on an occasion told media that she was thinking of committing suicide after the video footage of the assault on her was beamed by TV channels and released in the  public domain but decided against it after the moral support she received  from various quarters.

The Chief Minister called it unethical journalism and the editor in chief of the particular TV channel Atanu Bhuyan too decided to quit apprehending that the channel management would be under pressure from the government to remove him after the chief minister had pointed an accusing finger to the reporter of the TV channel for adopting ‘unethical ways’ to cover the crime on the street.

The prime accused of the incident Amarjyoti Kalita was arrested from a place close to Benaras Hindu University on July 23. He has been absconding ever since the episode hit the national headlines.

A Team Anna member and the leader of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi on July 15th alleged that a local TV journalist Gaurav Jyoti Neog had instigated the mob that assaulted and stripped the victim. Demanding the journalist’s arrest, Gogoi presented video footage of the incident before the media to prove his point. The same video tape was presented to the State DG of Police demanding the arrest of the journalist. Akhil’s allegation sparked statewide intense protests against the incident and demand for exemplary punishment of the perpetrators putting the government under tremendous pressure to act fast and effectively.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) sent two teams to probe into the molestation episode. The first team comprising social activist Alka Lamba and the Commission’s member Wansuk Syiem landed in Guwahati on July 14th to meet the victim and talk to everybody concerned including the State Police DGP J N Choudhury. They also went to the pub where the victim had gone with her friends on the fateful night and talked to some witnesses in the area where the incident occurred. The NCW team demanded constitution of a fast-track court to try and punish the culprits within six months.

Making a startling revelation NCW probe team member Alka Lamba said, “We have met the victim and spoken to her in detail. She is 20 years old and is in shock and needs time, counseling to come out of the trauma. The tormentors even inflicted burn injuries on the victim with burning cigarettes and she needed medical aid. We are not happy that the girl’s medical report is still in hospital. This is definitely a lapse on the part of the police.”

However, Lamba was later dropped from the probe panel after she faced criticism for naming the victim in a media conference in Guwahati. Later another team of the NCW led by its chairperson Mamata Sharma arrived on July 18th. The NCW has   recommended the Assam government to rehabilitate her in a government job besides facilitating proper counseling and medical treatment to help her overcome the trauma.  Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had already provided `50,000 to the victim to fulfill her wish to set up a beauty parlour and assured her proper shelter in the city.

Better late than never Finally, after being shamed by the barbaric episode on the street, the administration has woken up to the need for taking some firm steps to prevent such incidents in future. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has constituted a high-level police task force led by Additional Director General of Police (CID) to prevent such crimes against women in the state. Gogoi   also announced that a police commissioner would be appointed at the earliest for the burgeoning Guwahati city that has earned nationwide notoriety after July 9th incident. The law and order situation has been affected and so I feel that a police commissioner should be appointed,”Gogoi said.  Gogoi added “I take the responsibility and have taken action against erring police officials. The entire episode is disgusting. I understand that Assam has the dubious distinction of being the second state in the country in case of crime against women. This is worrying and for this reason, I want to probe into the social factor and have asked for data from the Tata Institute of Social sciences.” “Civil policing is necessary and I personally feel that the public should also be involved in combating social crimes. Apart from the government and police, the society should also take responsibility and this will be a welcome sign”, he said. Ashutosh Agnihotri, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (metro) district, has warned the bars in the city against serving drinks to under-age clients and keeping the bars open after 10 P.M. All the pubs have been asked to keep a tab on the age of their clients, install CCTV camera in and around it and engage adequate number of security personnel to tackle any emergency situation.

The NCW chief Ms. Sharma said, “The NCW condemns the molestation incident. The entire nation has been shamed by the episode and the NCW will not rest till justice is delivered to the victim. The police should have acted promptly as their early arrival would have saved the victim from much of what she had to face. It is shameful that some people saw the gang molesting the girl and did nothing about it. There is a need to change this mental attitude.

While lauding the media’s role in bringing to the fore the perpetrators of the Guwahati molestation, the NCW chief said that the media must be sensitive in reporting such crimes sans twisting facts.

Some of the recommendations made by the NCW include ensuring better security for women in the state through better police patrolling, along with women personnel, setting up of special police pickets with women police in front of all 128 pubs in Guwahati up to 22:30 hours for the security and safety of women.

It has recommended the pubs to check the age proof of its customers and install CCTVs outside all pubs. The NCW has asked the state government to instruct the police to act on any complaint of crime against women without going into jurisdiction territory and setting up a 24-hour women helpline and women cell in every police station.

An unsung hero of the episode While the footage beamed by TV channels has helped police arrest 14 of the 17 identified accused in the Guwahati girl molestation case so far, it was a senior journalist of a Guwahati-based vernacular Daily who braved the mob of assaulters and shielded the tormented girl from further attack for quite some time before police arrived at the spot. He was assisted by a handful of other sane persons at that moment of madness to lessen the agony of the hapless girl. “I was returning home after my day’s work was over and was slowing down my car a bit at a traffic signal when I saw a mob chasing a girl who was kept shouting ‘mujhe bachao’ while running towards my car. I parked the car and held the panic-stricken girl’s hand and dialed 100 for help,” said Editor Mukul Kalita. A father of a major in the Indian Army, Kalita who is known as a soft-spoken gentleman among the city journalists, said, “As soon as I came out of the car, the girl fell down on the ground and touched my feet pleading with me to save her. The mob even charged towards me and they abused me, shoved me and even hit me but I did not let them touch the girl anymore.  I was just being a human being. I don’t have a daughter of my own. The girl was already stripped of her clothes and I could only move her around to hide her modesty.” Kalita handed over the girl to police as soon as the men in khaki arrived at the spot. Before Kalita, a few other youths tried to protect the girl but were chased away by the violent mob. A deputy superintendent of police in civilian clothes also helped Kalita to shield the girl from the mob for some time before the arrival of the police.

In response to a heated debate in the Assam Assembly over the incident, the Speaker Pranab Gogoi said, “The matter (molestation of the girl) is definitely a matter of urgent public importance and it has tarnished the image of Assamese society. I have no words to condemn it and appealed to the government to take all steps so that such an incident never recurs.”

The victim of the molestation had on an occasion told media that she was thinking of committing suicide after the video footage of the assault on her was beamed by TV channels and released in the  public domain but decided against it after the moral support she received  from various quarters.

The nation will keep an eye on what punishment is finally meted out to those who have brought shame to the people of Assam so that our women will never have to face such a nightmarish ordeal in the future.

By a Correspondent