Cong accuses govt of failing to secure womenfolk in Assam

GUWAHATI: The Congress state unit today accused the state government of failing to secure women and demanded that the state police should take prompt step as regards crimes against women.

It also demanded that the police should apprise the people about action taken in order to assure the womenfolk about their security.

Alleging that incidents of rape and violence against women have become rampant, state Congress spokesperson Bobeeta Sharma said the latest rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl from tea community in Tingkhang constituency in Dibrugarh district on January 12 has proved that women are not secured even at their homes.

The girl was allegedly raped and murdered in a field near her house after her aunt Biraju Orang was murdered in their home in No 1 Nagabaat village under Pithaguri Panchayat of Tingkhang constituency. The girl was sleeping with her aunt at the latter's house. After killing her aunt she was dragged out of the house to be raped and murdered by miscreants. The culprits are yet to be apprehended.

ALSO READ: 15 MLAs of Assam Assembly named in ADR Assam Election Watch as having criminal cases

“This is not a isolated case. Prior to it, there was also the heinous case of gang rape and murder of a minor schoolgirl at Gohpur in February 2020 where all the accused were let off on bail. The case of rape on a woman constable trainee at the Armed Police Training Centre in Dergaon in Golaghat district by the chief drill instructor of the training centre on October 10, 2020 is another such incident. The fact that such an incident could occur in a department which is under the home minister speaks volumes about blatant disregard and disrespect not only for women but also for the laws of this country,” she added.

She also alleged that crimes against women increased manifold in the state since 2016 when the BJP came to power.

“As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures rate of crime against women in Assam stood at 166 for 2018 almost three times the national average rate of 58.8. The NCRB statistics reveal that crime against women in Assam is constantly rising and incidents of registered violence against women was 20,869 in 2016 which increased to 23,082 in 2017 and to 27,728 in 2018. Assam also recorded 66 instances of rape and murder -- the highest joint figure for the two categories in the country in 2018,” Sharma said.

“Assam also topped the list for cyber crimes against women in 2018 with 295 cases. In 2019 Assam again reported the highest rate of crime against women at 177.8 per lakh population, thus being top of the chart for three consecutive years,” she added.

“It is evident that increasing violence against women along with rape and murder has not been dealt with a strong hand and the very fact that such cases are increasing proves that government and its agencies have failed to instill fear among the perpetrators of such crimes. There is an urgent need to take quick action and to keep the public updated on the follow up actions of the incidents so that women feel secure,” Sharma said.