Rape victims seek help via social media

SHILLONG, June 12: Victims of alleged rape and molestation and their friends are reaching out to the Chairperson of the Women Empowerment Committee (WEC) via social media after everything else to get justice failed.
The House committee Chairperson, Ampareen Lyngdoh received a request from the friend of a rape victim on Twitter seeking her help.
The Twitter user said the girl, raped and dumped in a forest while on her way to her university in Shillong, has been traumatised by the system and the police were refusing to help her.
The case has been registered at the Lumdiengjri police station under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code.
“Director-General @Meghalaya police has informed that accused has been arrested and that procedure for charge0sheet will be completed by Tuesday,” Lyngdoh tweeted in her reply to the help-seeker.
“The victim and her friends saw my active Twitter account and they felt that they should reach out to me because since November nothing was heard of the case. They sent a personal note to me,” the chairperson and Congress MLA told The Shillong Times. “Based on that (note), I had requested the DGP who fast-tracked everything to raise hopes of justice for the victim and her family as they were not receiving any information earlier,” she said. Lyngdoh said the victim is a student of the city “and I don’t want to talk about the details”.
The WEC chairperson said she received the case of another young girl whose complaint at a police station in the city in November had not been taken up. She had been visiting the police station periodically to find out about the progress of the case.
“The DGP has assured that they will follow up on this case too. Women are reaching out to me and I am happy to be of help,” she said.