[ Chukhu Indu ]
ITANAGAR, 4 Mar: Following up on the murder of the 25-year-old woman from Pangchun village in Changlang district, whose skeletal remains were found on 30 March after she had gone missing on 7 March, a team of the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS), led by its secretary-general Kani Nada Maling, on Sunday visited the family members of the victim, as well as the place where the woman’s remains were found.
The APWWS team, which was accompanied by members of its Miao branch and the All Tangsa Women’s Welfare Society (ATWWS), was informed by the villagers that the lack of a “proper motorable bridge” could also have been a contributing factor in the murder. The victim hailed from Pangchun village.
The village, which is 5 kms away from Kharsang, lacks a proper bridge and has only a lone suspension bridge which is in a semi-dilapidated condition, despite the fact that there is a good road up to Injan, in the vicinity of the village.
Ngaimung Welfare Society president Samson Ngemu said that, “due to the absence of a proper bridge, most of the villagers take the short-cut road. It is risky to take the secluded road.”
The team interacted with the victim’s father Samnan Ngaimong and mother Nomcha Ngaimong. “I was waiting for the dead body to arrive, but what I saw was my daughter’s last remains brought in a carry bag,” said Nomcha, holding back tears.
The father demanded justice for his daughter, and said that he has faith in the police. “Had it been in our olden tradition, we could have asked for a head for a head,” he said.
A mother of four daughters and one son, the victim was the second daughter of Samnan and Nomcha, and was the sole bread winner of the family. Both parents are farmers but are not working for the last couple of years due to ill health.
The APWWS team was informed that parts of the victim’s body were found in different locations, and that the intestines were buried underneath her remains. The victim’s bag of clothes was buried in another pit dug by the two accused, the villagers informed.
They said that one Shivjee Singh, who has taken the tea garden (where the two accused worked) from one KS Lungphi on lease, had earlier informed the villagers that two women – one of them identified as the victim – had come to the village in a white Mahindra Bolero car, and that the next day, Singh asked the villagers to search for the woman in groups. It took several days before the remains were found.
However, it is learnt that the statement was changed at the police station on 1 April.
Expressing solidarity with the victim’s family, APWWS spokesperson Bengia Dipti Tadar and Changlang ZPC Kapseng Kungkho offered condolences to the bereaved family, while the APWWS secretary-general assured the family that the case would be taken up “in the highest forum.”
APWWS law coordinator Oyam Binggep advised the bereaved family to apply for victim compensation with the required documents, and said that the compensation has to be claimed within a year.
Later, the team visited the Kharsang police station to get an update on the case.
Both the accused are in police remand in Changlang since 27 March. They are expected to remain there, in case further interrogation is required, Kharsang OC L Gendhen said.
“The police are now on the lookout for the SIM card of the victim in Tinsukia (Assam), where it was discarded,” the OC said.
A case (No 03/22 u/s 365, 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC) has been registered against the duo.
In a joint statement, the APWWS and its Miao unit, along with the ATWWS have sought transfer of the case to a special investigation team.
The APWWS team was accompanied by, among others, APWWS Miao unit president Odi Tamut Singpho, general secretary Lusap Khimhun, Nimru Lungphi, ATWWS president Korong Longri, ATWWS GS Roikim T Ngemu, ex-ZPC Jungpo Jugli, and APWWS Itanagar branch GS Taku Yasap Tadar.
