SHILLONG: Home Minister James K Sangma called upon a joint effort of the society to ensure crimes against women are tackled effectively.
Replying to a zero-hour notice moved by Congress MLA, PT Sawkmie, on the growing incidents of crime against women, Sangma said, “Atrocities against women is not a law and order but it has to be taken up by society as a whole.”
Pointing to the allegation of dowry death of Pooja Devi, Sangma said FIR was received at Pasture Beat House on March 24, 2018 which was registered and investigation had been taken up.
He informed that the husband, Ravi Sankar Prasad and father-in-law, Jogendar Prasad Sah was arrested on April 2, 2018 and both were presently under judicial custody and the case was under active investigation.
Post mortem of Pooja was held on March 24 and the body was handed over to the mother of the deceased, Rekha Devi.
Sangma has assured Sawkmie that the post mortem report would be handed over to the family of the victim.
Referring to another incident pointed by Sawkmie on the death of a woman, Medlin Khongmawloh of Mawshun village under Pynursla.
Sangma informed that during the course of investigation, it was learnt that the husband arrived in an inebriated condition and started to argue with his wife on March 24.
There was heated argument which prompted the wife to pour kerosene oil on herself and started shouting at her husband to burn her, he added.
The husband took out a match box and lit his burning wife alive and later the husband poured water on the victim to put off the fire. However, the wife succumbed to her burnt injuries the next day.
Sangma added that the family members did not report the matter to the police and buried the body on March 26 and villagers were unaware of the incident. The husband was arrested and forwarded to Court.
Again, he pointed to the incident as referred to by Sawkmie about an incident on June 29, 2016 after a person, A. Lamare assaulted the son of Sistina Lamare in which A. Lamare inflicted injuries on her son after he had assaulted her son with a log and kicked him on the chest.
Sistina filed a case and the case had been charge-sheeted, Sangma informed.