ITANAGAR, Jul 9: The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women (APSCW) has condemned the alleged molestation of a girl at the Don Bosco Youth Centre (DBYC) here by the centre’s director, Fr Cyriac.
Taking suo moto cognizance of the alleged molestation case, “as per knowledge through social media,” the APSCW has sought a status report of the case from the officer-in-charge of the women police station here.
“The APSCW office contacted the SP over telephone to direct the concern officers to expedite the investigation and submit the status report,” it said in a release.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) said that, though complaint has not been received by the APWWS from the victim or her family members regarding the molestation charges against Fr Cyriac, the APWWS contacted the chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Itanagar, under whose jurisdiction Childline Itanagar functions, to enquire about the case, and also contacted the women police station here.
“It was informed that the instant case is registered and the alleged accused was arrested and later on released on bail from the court,” the APWWS stated in a press release.
It urged the people to refrain from circulating posts on social media questioning the mental health of the victim and the veracity of the complaint, saying that doing so “is not good at this stage, when the matter is under investigation, and as such, it may cause mental harassment to the victim.
“Since the case is under investigation by the police and the matter is sub judice, the public should refrain from drawing any conclusion and let the police do their investigation,” the APWWS said.
“For any individual case, it’s not appropriate to unnecessarily drag any particular religious community and NGO, and if the allegation is established, then the APWWS demands that justice be delivered to the victim,” it added.
When contacted, Women Police Station OC P Taku informed that a case under Section 354/354 A of the IPC was registered, based on the complaint lodged by the complainant, and investigation is on.
She refused to divulge further information regarding the case.
