SHILLONG, May 16: Braving rain and inclement weather, shops and business establishments downed its shutter in Shillong on Thursday morning as most of its residents joined the protest march organized to condemn the brutal rape of a seven year old girl on May 8 and also put pressure on the district administration to apprehend the culprits responsible for the heinous crime. The protest march however was not confined to the residents of Malki locality as NGOs and prominent personalities of the city like legislator Jemino Mawthoh and State Commission for Women chairperson Thelin Phanbuh also joined the procession. The student community turned out in large number.
Organized by the Malki Dorbar Shnong, the protest march saw participation from hundreds of concerned citizens as the serpentine line marched through Nongshilang, Khlieh Shnong, Dhanketi and culminating in Malki ground where a public rally was held. The seven years old victim of the rape had been admitted in NEIGRIHMS and was released on Wednesday. She was taken to the jungle in Malki and was raped.
The incident had outraged the residents of Malki and other localities which made the Malki Dorbar Shnong to organize the protest rally and pressurize the government to take the case seriously, apprehend the criminals and give exemplary punishment that would be a deterrent to other likeminded criminals. After the rally a public meeting was held at Malki ground wherein Phanbuh felt that the government must appoint a strong public prosecutor so that the culprit doesn’t get away because of weak prosecution from the government side.
Another speaker Malki Presbyterian school principal P Nongneng called on women legislators of Meghalaya to take serious note of the rape incident and hoped that they would take steps in seeing that government formulate policy that ensure “zero tolerance” to such heinous crime. Another speaker suggested that criminals who indulge in such heinous crime must not only be punished by law but should also be ostracized by the society.
Further demanding speedy actions, the people during the meeting while expressing anger also maintained that if the law fails to act, people will be compel to take the law in their own hands against the culprit. “Despite Meghalaya being a Christian state, but the state day by day is turning into a devil’s land with such incident of crimes against minor and women growing at an alarming rate,” an executive member of the dorbar shnong said.
Stating that we want the immediate action, he said, “If the government fails, the dorbar shnong will trace the culprits by itself but will not hand over them to court and would take its own course of action against them,” adding “Even if we to go the court, justice is far from expecting.” A representative of a women organization in support to this said that such criminals should castracized by the society so that it will be lesson for others deterring from even thinking of committing such acts.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/rape-protested-in-shillong/
