Itanagar: Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today said the case of the alleged rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in West Kameng district would be processed quickly so that the culprit can be awarded exemplary punishment as per law at the earliest.
“This is a heinous crime unheard of in our state. We will see to it that justice is delivered and the culprit is accorded a punishment in equal terms as the crime committed,” he assured the people in a statement on Thursday.
“A criminal is a criminal and does not belong to a tribe, community or religion”, he said. The Chief Minister also deputed Health and Family Welfare Minister Atum Welly and local MLA Kumsi Sidisow to follow the investigation and ensure speedy processing of the case as well as console the aggrieved family and the local people. Tuki also directed for release of ex-gratia to the aggrieved family at the earliest as per norms, official sources said. With several organisations staging protests demanding exemplary punishment for the culprit, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to maintain calm and allow the law to take its own course.
The Chief Minister had yesterday convened a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police to take stock of the situation as well as the investigation.
Meanwhile, the accused involved in the alleged rape and murder of the minor girl at Bhalukpong has been remanded to seven days police custody by a local court.
The accused, Labi Tuksa, an acquaintance of the child had on Tuesday last lured her from her house, took her to a secluded tourist lodge, allegedly raped and murdered her before dumping her body in the nearby jungle.
The chief minister’s emissary Welly and Sidisow had a separate meeting with the locals and appealed them to maintain calm and not to take law into their hand, saying law will take its own course of action. Both Welly and Sidisow also met the victim’s parents and consoled them. Sounding a note of caution, the local MLA appealed to the citizens of Bhalukpong to verify the antecedents of persons prior to engaging them for their household work. The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) organized a rally at Bhalukpong last evening and demanded capital punishment for the accused. “There is no place for a criminal in a tribal society, who visibly resorted to cold blooded murder of an infant girl”, AAPSU president Kamta Lapung said.
“It is a heinous crime against women, and should not be politicized, communalized and given any colour to create hurdle in the legal process,” Lapung said. (PTI)