[ Bengia Ajum ]
WAKRO, 13 Sep: A Hindu priest, identified as Sunil Kumar, was arrested from the Parshuram Kund area in Lohit district on Saturday for allegedly physically assaulting two women on Friday.
He had been absconding since the incident, which occurred within the premises of the Parshuram religious site, where the women were engaged in research-related work.
The victims have been identified as Titir Debnath, a PhD. scholar from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and her associate Sareng Rangmang, a local resident of Wakro. Debnath has been conducting research on the behaviour of monkeys in Arunachal Pradesh and has visited Parshuram Kund several times for this purpose.
On Friday, while the two were feeding monkeys and observing their behaviour, Sunil Kumar reportedly raised objections. He allegedly used abusive language, which the women strongly protested. However, he did not stop there and went on to physically assault both of them. Sareng Rangmang informed her family, after which Kumar reportedly fled the scene and went into hiding.
Police arrested him on Saturday afternoon. “He was arrested from a jungle outside the temple premises. We have lodged an FIR and the investigation is ongoing,” said Lohit SP Thutan Jamba.
Meanwhile, the locals of Wakro have expressed deep anger over the assault on the two women.
“We are deeply shocked and hurt by the inhuman act that transpired within the temple premises – a place we once regarded as a sanctuary of faith and tranquillity now rendered a site of distress for our children,” said a local resident of Wakro.
The locals have called for the accused to be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act). They have also demanded that he be charged under appropriate provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
