[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 30 Jul: In 2014, when Yumken Bagra joined as a hostel warden in the government residential school in Karo village in Monigong circle of Shi-Yomi district, it changed the lives of many children forever.
For the next eight years, he indulged in the most heinous crime ever recorded in the history of Arunachal by raping, molesting and exploiting the children as young as six years old. His victims suffered in silence for years, but finally saw a ray of hope when he was arrested after a parent lodged a complaint with the Monigong police, alleging that Bagra had molested his two children.
Though he was arrested, he managed to get bail and is currently out of jail. This has further traumatised the victims and their families.
“We were shocked to hear that he got bail. As soon as the news reached our village, the children got scared and refused to go to school. Bagra used to threaten them of dire consequences,” one of the victims’ fathers told this daily.
Even though the father is a daily wage earner and has never been to school, he had sent his children to the school with hope for a better future. “I used to get very angry when the children refused to go to school, as I had no idea what they were suffering in the school. There must be more victims apart from the 21 that have come out openly. I sent my children to government school as I can’t afford private school. Our dreams have been crushed,” he said.
He has appealed to the high court to rethink and cancel the bail of the accused.
“Yumken Bagra should be behind bars. He has committed a heinous crime,” he added.
On 1 November, 2022, a parent lodged a complaint at the Monigong police station, alleging that Bagra had sexually assaulted and attempted to rape his twin daughters on several occasions. This FIR opened a Pandora’s box as many victims got courage and came out to tell their ordeal.
So far, 21 victims have gathered the courage to come out in the open, though it is feared that the number may be higher.
Bagra used to make children dance wearing undergarments – sometimes even naked – during nighttime. He forced them to watch porn movies on his phone. His victims included both boys and girls. His youngest victim was a six-year-old girl. In her statement, the victim said that Yumken Bagra used to force them to dance wearing undergarments during nighttime. Once, when she complained about it to her mother, she was badly beaten up.
In 2019, one fine afternoon, a Class 4 student of the school was called to the room of Bagra. Innocently she went to his room, and was raped by Bagra on that day, and it continued for one year. Further, she was forced to regularly massage him, including his private parts. Later, her medical examination revealed that her hymen was partially torn.
The accused used to give cough syrup, and some tablets too, to the victims to make them feel sleepy. After that, he could make them sleep with him and rape them. The next day, the children used to wake up with severe body pain, and sometimes bleeding, from the act of rape.
Yumken Bagra preyed on boys too. “He used to make boys apply lipsticks and wear girls’ dresses. We were forced to dance at night and massage his private parts. He also made us steal chickens from the village and carry firewood from the jungle. Whoever refused to follow his dictates, he used to beat them,” stated one of the victims.
Bagra managed to carry on with the heinous crime for eight long years by threatening the victims. “He warned children that if they informed their parents, he would cut them into pieces and throw them into the river. He also warned them of punishing their parents if they complained,” said Dr Nasi Koji, a native of Shi-Yomi district, who is currently helping the children in the battle for justice.
She said also that the delay in delivering justice is deeply affecting the morale of the children. “The victims as well as other children are not motivated to go to the school, seeing the injustice being meted out. We hope that the honourable high court will take cognisance of the pain and suffering of the victims and their families. The whole Shi-Yomi district is seeking justice,” she added.
Further, she appealed to the people of the state to support them.
The bail cancellation hearing of Yumken Bagra will be heard on Monday, 31 July.
The Gauhati High Court had taken up suo moto the case of sexual abuse of 21 students by Bagra between 2019 and 2022, on 20 July.
The accused was let out on bail, granted by the special court in Yupia.
The first hearing after the suo moto cognisance was on 21 July, and the second was held on Thursday, 27 July.
