SHILLONG: The Commissioner of Garo Hills Division PW Ingty has questioned the authenticity of West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi’s allegation that Garoland activists while storming his office on Tuesday had molested female staff, saying initial report does not indicate so.
The Deputy Commissioner in a statement issued on Wednesday claimed that besides assaulting the female staff of his office, they were also molested by the protestors.
However, Ingty, who is also the Additional Development Commissioner for Garo Hills, said that initial reports had not indicated anything regarding molestation.
Similarly, the Chairman of Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) Nikman Marak has refuted the molestation charge saying that volunteers had requested all the employees to leave the office as a sign of support to the Statehood movement.
“If volunteers molested the lady employee then the respective Deputy Commissioner should produce evidence since the DC’s office has CCTV cameras,” Marak said in statement adding “if such allegation of molestation is found to be false, then, the DC will have to tender apology publicly”.
Police reports have not mentioned anything regarding molestation of the staff of the office of West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner.
According to the police report, on September 10 around 3:15 pm, a group of GHSMC activists trespassed into the DC’s Office at Tura, West Garo Hills . “They manhandled Pangme T Sangma, office peon and AK Jha, LDA while Sharmilla Ch. Marak, office peon was locked inside the office room. They also pelted stones at the magistrates and security personnel on duty”, the report said.
However, employees present during the incident informed that no request of any kind was made to vacate the offices adding that the volunteers without warning barged into the offices assaulting a senior Office Assistant of the DRDA and manhandled a lady employee and even locked a female worker inside a room.