Kokrajhar, April 29 : Family members of the woman who was gangraped allegedly by personnel of the army’s 15 Dogra Regiment on April 20 have approached the National Human Right Commission (NHRC) for justice.
The Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples has also sought the intervention of the Assam governor into the incident.
The woman’s husband, Ratneswar Goyary, today sent a letter to the chairman, NHRC, New Delhi, seeking justice. “We filed an FIR in Kokrajhar police station on April 21 and the case is registered but so far no action has been taken by the administration against the culprits,” the letter said.
The family sought punishment of the six soldiers involved in the rape and sought protection for the victim from harassment and compensation according to the provision of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Prevention Atrocities Act, 1995. “We will approach the governor tomorrow seeking justice for the rape victim. It is a heinous crime and an insult to the indigenous people. It is sad to see the police are not taking any action against the culprits. It is a gross violation of human rights,” Goyari said.
The district administration must take immediate action against the guilty whether he is a jawan or not, said Jebraram Mushahary, senior member of confederation while addressing a news conference at the Press Club here in Kokrajhar today.
The confederation along with United Peoples’ Federation of Assam and the All Barman Kachari Students’ Union submitted a memorandum to the Kokrajhar deputy commissioner demanding immediate arrest and punishment of the guilty soldiers.
With pressure from various organisations and civil society mounting, the district administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident seven days after the rape was committed.
Goyary’s was gangraped in her house around 7.30pm in his absence allegedly by two soldiers while the others held her.
According to the victim, six men in civvies forcefully entered her house while she was feeding her three-year-old son and two of them took turns to rape her.
However, the army has denied the rape charges.
