Shilllong, June 17: The Meghalaya State Women Commission (MSCW) has decided to write to Home Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui for the failure on the part of the police to take action on the complaint of domestic violence by the mother against the accused father, Joefresson Jana, three days before he had allegedly killed his two minor children.
Talking to reporters here on Friday, MSCW chairperson, Phidalia Toi said that the mother had gone to Rynjah police station on May 27 to lodge a complaint that her husband had assaulted her on the road side while she was on her way to work.
She stated that the police did not take any action and instead told the mother that it was a family dispute and suggested that the accused father needed some counseling.
Toi said that the decision of the police not to take action was highly questionable since he was a habitual offender and also an alcoholic.
MSCW chairperson observed that the tragic incident took place where the two minors were allegedly killed by their father three days after the mother had filed the complaint with the police.
She said that the two minors might not have faced this consequence if the police had acted on the complaint of the mother.
Toi observed that what had happened to the two kids was a kind of revenge since the mother had gone to the police station to report about what he had done to her.
“We would urge upon the Home Minister that this kind of insensitivity and lethargic habits of the law protectors should not be repeated. We will recommend that action should be taken against the erring police officials,” Toi said.
The MSCW chairperson said that the women would not have gone to the police station just for the sake of going there.
“If it is not serious, nobody would go to the police station. So the police should understand not to take anything likely. The members of the commission are resolute that this kind of lapses should not take place again,” she said.
When asked as to why the mother had not filed an FIR against the husband, the MSCW chairperson said that sometimes people do not want to file a complaint since there may be a threat adding that there could be many reasons for the people not to file the FIR.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya State Women Commission coordinator, Annie Sohtun said that in the case of domestic violence, the police could have forwarded the case to the one stop centre for immediate intervention.
Sohtun said that the mother should have got immediate relief as per Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Replying to a question on the failure of police to act immediately when the mother had gone to complain about the missing of her two minor children on May 29 night, MSCW chairperson said that the police should have acted immediately since the mother had complained against the father on May 27.