[1]Assam’s best-known RTI activist Akhil Gogoi on Saturday alleged that a television journalist 'masterminded' the molestation of a girl on camera on Monday night and presented 'audio-visual evidence' to support his claim even as Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi gave the police 48 hours to arrest those involved in the incident.
Raids were being conducted at suspected hideouts of 12 men, including Amarjyoti Kalita, both in Assam and in neighbouring states, the police said. So far, four persons have been arrested while 12 others have been identified.
Accusing the editor-in-chief of a national news channel, two editors and proprietor of a local news channel of hiding the truth despite having raw footage of the incident, Gogoi told reporters, “The video footage which I am going to play here was shot by a local TV channel owned by the wife of a Congress minister.”
Naming some TV journalists, Gogoi played a video interview by a local news channel where the victim, pointing a finger at the journalist interviewing her, says, “I was returning home after attending a birthday party. You stopped me and then did all this to me.”
Gogoi, who played select video frames where the TV journalist seems to direct in Assamese, “Nengta kori de... nengta kor... (Strip her... strip her... she is a prostitute...).”
Before this, Mr Gogoi also played recorded audio clips of the journalist asking his office to send a camera crew near the income-tax office on G.S.
Road. “Send the camera fast... we have confined the girl,” he is heard saying. He is also heard boasting to a fellow journalist who tried to stop the girl’s harassment, “You know, I have done all this”.
Gogoi alleged that, “The editor-in chief of a national news channel, who was given an award by the said local news channel recently, also had all the video footage but chose not to play or expose the news channel and its journalist.”
He said he had submitted the full raw footage to Assam DGP Jayanta Narayan Choudhury and would give it to the National Commission for Women, too, and threw a challenge to chief minister Tarun Gogoi to act against his ministers 'who are obviously defending the real culprits'.
Molestation victim caught on camera with Congmen
In what has raised serious question over the role of the government, the victim of molestation was not allowed to meet any mediaperson even after repeated attempt to locate her.
However, TV channel reporters caught the girl in Christianbasti area but leaders of youth Congress accompanying the girl in an expensive car did not allow reporters to come closer.
Even family members of accused Amarjyoti Kalita, who was absconding, have also shifted from their existing houses.
In what has been alleged to be a conspiracy, the victim could not appear before the National Women Commission on her stipulated time schedule.
The victim is reported to have met some ministers also, though, it was not known what transpired in the meeting.
The youth Congress leaders who claimed to have been giving protection to the victim told reporters that they visited the girl following the instruction of a minister.
“We were asked to organise meeting between the girl and the minister,” said a leader of the youth Congress clarifying that they don’t know the present location of the victim. The police is also tight-lipped about restricted movement of the girl.
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