Diphu April 11: The 24 hour Karbi Anglong strike call given by several women’s organizations including Karbi Nimso Chingthur Asong (KNCA), All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), Karbi Students Association, Human Rights Organizations which began from 5.00 AM today in protest against the vicious rape of three women and to force their demand for immediate arrest of the army personnel involved in the episode has remained peaceful by and large.
The strike evoked maximum support from all parts of the district, vehicular traffic was very thin in all urban areas, and government offices, financial establishments and markets remained closed. Karbi Anglong Police escorted a convoy of trucks and other vehicles coming from Nagaland and Manipur starting from Lahorijan of Bokajan subdivision to Garampani in Golaghat district of Assam through national highway 39.
Sharing information on the whole incident, a high-level government official told this correspondent that the district administration is doing its best to chastise the offender within the ambit of the law and things are going in the right direction, in this matter the army authority and higher ups of that particular regiment are cooperating.
“I can reassure you the offenders will be identified very shortly and the happening will be investigated we are also awaiting the medical report, the need of the hour is to maintain peace without disrupting the law and order arrangement of the district at this critical hour” said the official on condition of anonymity.
The rape incident has been widely condemned by individuals and organizations; Karbi Cultural Society, Hills State Demand Committee, BJP, Hills Area Development Organization have demanded drastic action against the army personnel if found guilty.
“The incident has not only maligned the vibrant image of the Indian army who has a legacy the whole world salutes but in Karbi Anglong the force has lost its face because of the wrongdoing of a few, I personally feel that not the civil authority nor the people of this land but the Indian army should go out of its way if needed to arrest the wrong doer and punish them to retrieve its lost stature,” Dhani Ram Tisso, National award winner for film making and resident of Dokmoka said.
The agitating organizations have threatened to block the rail line between Lumding and Dibrugarh from Tuesday if tangible development doesn’t take place in arresting the culprit involved in the heinous crime against women.
