By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In a clear U-turn from her earlier statement, an alleged rape victim on Friday turned hostile and told a magistrate here that the culprit, one Bengia Anthony, had not raped her.
In her statement to First Class Judicial Magistrate KM Lyngdoh on Friday, the victim said, “Bengia Anthony did not do anything bad to me. He did not touch me and he did not rape me or attempt to rape me.”Earlier, the girl, hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, had alleged that Bengia Anthony had tried to ‘kidnap, rape and murder her’ on October 7 after offering her a lift on his motorbike. Based on an FIR, police had even arrested the accused. However, a counter FIR was filed by Anthony against the girl.
Meanwhile, CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing, who has been following up on the case, expressed surprise over the changed stand of the girl.Kharshiing said that the girl must have changed her statement bowing to some pressure since the accused comes from an influential background, while adding that the girl had, in the past, received threatening calls asking her to forget the incident.She urged the alleged victim not to give in to fear and pressure tactics so that her case would serve as an example for others.