Tura girls’ assault case: Victims’ statements not recorded afresh
SHILLONG: The magisterial inquiry into the assault of 12 girls by women pressure groups including CSWO, Garo Hills Sentinel for Human Rights and Achik Mothers’ Association in Tura has left many missing links with no new information to offer since the factors leading to the assault is the same as the police version and that of the district administration.
The Sub Divisional Magistrate, Dadenggre Civil Sub Division, West Garo Hills, SC Sadhu, in his two-page inquiry report (others are annexure) said that the inquiry believes that the accused individuals illegally detained the girls in private custody and physically abused the girls keeping the district administration completely in the dark.
The girls were confined and tortured at the residence of CSWO member Jaynie Sangma since May 4 and they were rescued only on May 8.
“They conducted raids on the private residences on their own without the involvement of the police. By involving the members of the Church in counselling of the girls, they misled both the administration and members of the Church,” the report said.
The copy of the magisterial inquiry report accessed by CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing through RTI and released to the media on Thursday, however, suffers from many lacunae.
There are many loopholes in the process of the probe as the girls were never interviewed by the Magistrate.
The report is apparently incomplete since Sadhu who carried out the probe did not meet the girls.
Sadhu has reproduced only the statements of the victims recorded by I. Rymbui, First Class Judicial Magistrate, CJM court, West Garo Hills, Tura.
Though the girls in their statement had mentioned that the leaders of the women’s groups Jaynie N Sangma, Konica Sangma, Lonavi Sangma and Babiana Sangma assaulted them at the residence of Jaynie with sticks and were also asked to clean toilets, fetch water and clean utensils, the pastors who had also given statements to Sadhu did not mention which groups had assaulted the girls.
The girls in their statement to the First Class Judicial Magistrate had also mentioned that Jaynie had threatened them taking the name of GNLA.
One of the victims besides naming the women pressure groups who had assaulted her and other girls also mentioned that a police team led by one Bitching caught her and informed Jaynie over phone to take her to Jaynie’s house.
The victim pleaded with the court that “Bitching should be punished for inciting the constables to beat them on the day of the incident”.
Though there were allegations of involvement of surrendered ANVC in the alleged torture of girls as also revealed by the ANVC-B and also by the women pressure groups, the inquiry skipped the angle.
Moreover, a news photographer was allowed to take photographs of the girls in the presence of a male person in Tura police station after they were stripped. The photographs were posted on the social media which, however, was not examined by Sadhu.
The District Social Welfare Officer of West Garo Hills, I. Tariang, had spoken to only 10 girls on May 13 and she could not talk to two others as they seemed to be “giving statements in the other room” and she could meet the girls at 7.50 pm at night in the women police station cell accompanied by the woman police Janice K Marak, who had allowed them to be stripped on May 9 at the Women Police cell in front of a man and the media photographer.
The Social Welfare Official also expressed her concern over the order of the Police asking the girls to come at night to the police station to get their statements, and she also mentioned that the girls said they were not feeling threatened and would want to be with their parents and relatives.
However, the next day the Deputy Commissioner wrote a letter that the girls should be shifted to a shelter home, due to threat faced by one girl backed by the statement of SP, Tura, M.K. Singh.
Questions are also being raised on why the police did not allow the remaining two girls to give their statements to the Social Welfare Official I. Tariang.
The report also did not take into account the angle of alleged exploitation of girls for flesh trade as in a statement of one of the pastors, one of the girls had mentioned that last year she was sold in Goalpara.
Though the girls were victims of sexual exploitation, the Magistrate did not probe this matter.
The report also did not go into the statement of a pastor that the girls are being exploited by the ‘superiors’ which was also not examined by the Magistrate.
Though the girls were rescued on May 8, the injury certificates were issued only on May 10 and there are also contradictions in the statement of the pastors and in the medical report about injury marks.
Another issue is that though Balsan Marak, the victim of custodial death was arrested in connection with the assault of the girls, the FIR against Balsan was not attached in the inquiry report.