SHILLONG: A memorandum submitted by a conglomeration of Tangkhul organisations to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday alleged that the missing nurse, whose body was found on Tuesday, was tortured and raped before being murdered.
Tangkhul catholic community, students’ union and elders’ body and Naga Elders Forum urged Sangma to ensure proper inquiry. They pointed out that that the injuries on the body of 28-year-old Leiyaton Soro indicate “abduction, torture, rape and murder”.
Soro went out in the in the afternoon of May 26 after returning from duty but did not come back on that day prompting her brother to file a missing complaint at Laitumkhrah police station.
When asked about the allegation of rape, police said “judging by her clothes, it is unlikely but again nothing is certain unless we get the medical report”.
The police are combing the area where the body was recovered for clues and personal belongings of the deceased.
Investigators are tryng to find the victim’s cell-phone which they suspect to be somewhere in the vicinity.
The incident once again raised alarm about the declining law and order, especially when it comes to security of women, in the state.
Meanwhile, Soro’s colleagues at Nazareth Hospital, where she was working since April 2012, remembered her as a sincere and quiet worker.
The administrator of Nazareth, Sister Nurin, recalled that she worked from 7 am to 1.30 pm on May 26 and left the hospital at 2 pm. Sunday was her day-off.
Sister Nurin said her staff informed her that Soro did not turn up for work on Monday. On Tuesday, she came to know that Soro was missing.
The next evening, she was informed that her body was brought to Shillong Civil Hospital.
“She was always quiet, gentle and ever smiling and all of us are shocked to find that she is no longer alive… we never had to scold her for work. We have lost a good staff,” said Sister Nurin.
Terming the incident as “unfortunate and shocking”, she said the hospital has a policy for its staff and it is signed by all. They know about their duty timings and even classes are organised for them.
When asked if the hospital would file a fresh FIR, the administrator hinted that it would not since she had finished her duty and had reached her home, which is at a walking distance from the hospital.
The girl was staying with her brother here at Nongrim Hills.
Soro’s body has been taken to her home town in Manipur.
Stating that such crime has no place in a country like India, the Tngkhul bodies’ petition said such incidents pose grave threat to the safety and security of women in Meghalaya and if left unchecked, “it will be detrimental to the students’ community in Shillong”.
