NIRJULI, 23 Mar: The Nirjuli police arrested Borum village ZPM Tok Tama on Thursday night for abetting the suicide of his wife, late Techi Neme Tok.
He has been booked under 306 IPC, and is currently in judicial custody.
Naharlagun SDPO Paul Jerang informed this daily that the police were informed about the incident at around 9:30-10 pm on 21 March.
The police informed that Tama’s eldest child was the first to see the body of late Tok hanging by a rope on their property.
The SDPO said that, “on seeing the tense situation in the residence, the police initially had to escort Tama, the alleged accused, to the police station.”
“It was informed by the relatives of the deceased that her husband had been mentally torturing his wife, as he was in an extramarital affair and also in debt,” the police informed.
“The postmortem of the body was conducted on Friday, and the case is still under investigation,” the SDPO said.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) expressed deep shock and sorrow over the incident, and appealed to the police to “swiftly arrest all the persons involved in the incident leading to the death of Techi Neme Tok.”
APWWS president Kani Nada Maling said, “It is believed to be a case of murder, and all the individuals involved in abetting this death must be held accountable.”
“Such cases of murder, particularly due to illicit affairs, are becoming alarmingly frequent,” Maling said, citing the example of the double murder of late Techi Meena Lishi and her unborn child.
The APWWS strongly criticised women who knowingly get into affairs with married men, “causing destruction in the lives of other women.” It also expressed concern over “mistresses using pressure tactics on husbands to remove the legally wedded wife.”
It appealed to the state government to “address the issue of polygamy and enact an appropriate legislation to ban it, as these tragic incidents are otherwise likely to recur.”
“The loss of our sisters in such circumstances is unacceptable. Depression cases are also on the rise,” the APWWS said, and told the state government to “take this matter seriously; else the APWWS will resort to democratic movements.”
The APWWS said also that, “despite fervent prayers by the society, the government’s inaction on banning polygamy suggests that it may be influenced by patriarchal mindsets.”
“Justice for late Techi Meena Lishi and her unborn child remains elusive, especially when the woman involved in such cases roams freely,” it said, and questioned whether more women must die in such manners for the state government to initiate any meaningful action.
“We cannot let our sisters die like this, and urge the people to unite against polygamy,” the APWWS said.
It also appealed to the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women to “put pressure on the state government to ban polygamy and strongly take up the case, so that justice is delivered to the victim and her family.”
