Staff Reporter
SEPPA, May 18: Agitated at the inaction of the police authority in arresting the main culprit in a rape incident at Sunrise Residential School here in East Kameng district, the Women Welfare Organization (WWO) on Monday staged a protest march.
Many women joined the protest march, which started from Government Higher Secondary School at Bebo Colony and culminated at the welcome gate tri-junction.
The women demanded closing down of the Sunrise Residential School, where the rape incident allegedly took place, besides seeking action against the principal.
“The objective of our protest is to send strong condemnation against such heinous crimes and to demand justice for the minor survivor by giving exemplary punishment to the culprit” said WWO president Mone Taba.
The WWO strongly opposed the customary way of settling rape cases and demanded that such heinous crimes not be settled at the local level, but to take them through a court of law.
“If we don’t send a strong message against rape today, such incident may happen again tomorrow,” said Ebi WWO general secretary Lollen Pizi while addressing the gathering.
“We want exemplary punishment for the culprit. Rape should not be negotiated through customary laws and local settlement (yallung),” Ebi added.
Reportedly, the alleged accused had surrendered before the police on Sunday evening after considerable pressure mounted by the WWO on police authority.
The alleged rape of the minor took place in November last year and rocked the town of Seppa after the minor’s parents lodged an FIR on 17 April, 2020 against the culprit and the school authority for allegedly hushing up the incident.
Four teachers were arrested, including the school principal who later received bail. However, the culprit had been absconding since then.
A case has been registered under the POCSO Act.
Seeking justice for her daughter, the girl’s mother made shocking revelation on 10 May, 2020 that the relatives of the alleged culprit were using various channels to negotiate with her to settle the case.
The mother said that the school should be closed down for hushing the heinous crime and pleaded to the police authority to take stringent action against all culprits.
