Tura Police draws flak for procedural lapses

TURA, April 28: A routine recording of statement of an alleged rape survivor in Garo Hills turned into a harrowing experience for the girl and her family, drawing condemnation from Rupa M Marak, a youth leader from the region.
Marak has alleged procedural lapses by Tura Police during recording of the survivor’s statement.
His statement comes a day after he met with the family members of the survivor who told him that at least three policewomen from Tura police station literally hounded the survivor as well as her parents.
The family spoke about the intense trauma that they had to endure as they were abused by the policewomen who even tried to coerce the survivor into admitting that there was no case of sexual assault. All this, despite there being an eyewitness to the incident.
The 20-year-old college student was returning home when she was allegedly waylaid by the accused who strangled her into unconsciousness. The accused was caught while in the act by an eyewitness but managed to flee while leaving his phone behind. The eyewitness helped the survivor reach home after which her family filed an FIR.
“This sort of thing should never have happened. The police should have been sympathetic to the situation instead of hounding her. She has just suffered from trauma that even left her incapable of writing her exam papers. We expect the people handling the case to be extremely sensitive to the situation and not aggravate her condition,” Marak said in a press statement.
Meanwhile the family pointed to procedural lapses in how the statement of the survivor was recorded. Instead of visiting the residence, she and her family were called to the police station despite objection being raised by a consultant from the one stop centre.
The family pointed out that only the Investigating Officer should have been present to take her statement. “The bullying that she suffered at the hands of the other two policewomen has haunted her. We were shocked by the abuse we suffered at their hands and it has made us fearful of even going to the police station again,” said the father.
Marak observed that such lapses should not have taken place at all. “The police have arrested the accused and the law will run its course. There was no need for something like this to happen,” he added.