Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury, Assam's Director General of Police
Guwahati:
A mob of about 50 men brutally assaulted, stripped and molested a Class XI student in Guwahati for nearly 40 minutes on Monday.
After the video of the incident went viral on YouTube, it grabbed national headlines. People in Assam, and across the country, are outraged and a series of complicated questions need to be addressed. Leading the list is why only four men of a mob of 50 have been arrested. Also, begging an answer is what took the police more than 30 minutes to get to the spot, especially when there is a police station just one kilometre away.
After his force was slammed for delayed action, Assam DGP Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury said police is not like an "ATM machine" which can be present at the crime scene the moment one inserts a card in the machine.
"The outrage we all share. As far as police action is concerned, people expected the traditional response - round up the culprits. But we have identified the culprits, we have strong video evidence and once we get them, they will remain behind bars," he said when he spoke to NDTV.
The police today also said that the victim may not be a minor.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday no one should make light of an incident of molesting a woman or molesting a child. "If they have tried to make light of the incident I strongly condemn it. No one should make light of an incident of molesting a woman or molesting a child," he told reporters in Chandigarh. Mr Chidambaram said he would get in touch with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi over the incident.
National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamta Sharma also slammed the state police for the 'ATM machine remark' and condemned the delay in action.
An angry Guwahati put up a big hoarding with photographs and names of six men this morning. They have been identified as main culprits in the mob. The hoarding says, 'these people have shamed the Assamese society... please identify them....and inform the nearest police station.'
The four accused who have been arrested have been booked under Sec 341 (wrongful restraint) 143 (unlawful assembly), 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code following a written complaint filed by girl's mother.
After the video of the incident went viral on YouTube, it grabbed national headlines. People in Assam, and across the country, are outraged and a series of complicated questions need to be addressed. Leading the list is why only four men of a mob of 50 have been arrested. Also, begging an answer is what took the police more than 30 minutes to get to the spot, especially when there is a police station just one kilometre away.
After his force was slammed for delayed action, Assam DGP Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury said police is not like an "ATM machine" which can be present at the crime scene the moment one inserts a card in the machine.
"The outrage we all share. As far as police action is concerned, people expected the traditional response - round up the culprits. But we have identified the culprits, we have strong video evidence and once we get them, they will remain behind bars," he said when he spoke to NDTV.
The police today also said that the victim may not be a minor.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday no one should make light of an incident of molesting a woman or molesting a child. "If they have tried to make light of the incident I strongly condemn it. No one should make light of an incident of molesting a woman or molesting a child," he told reporters in Chandigarh. Mr Chidambaram said he would get in touch with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi over the incident.
National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamta Sharma also slammed the state police for the 'ATM machine remark' and condemned the delay in action.
An angry Guwahati put up a big hoarding with photographs and names of six men this morning. They have been identified as main culprits in the mob. The hoarding says, 'these people have shamed the Assamese society... please identify them....and inform the nearest police station.'
The four accused who have been arrested have been booked under Sec 341 (wrongful restraint) 143 (unlawful assembly), 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code following a written complaint filed by girl's mother.
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