Guwahati: Five days after a teenaged girl was molested by a mob in Guwahati, nine of the 13 accused are still

roaming free. The police have been able to arrest only four people so far. The incident has once again stepped up the 'safety for women' debate in the country. It also raises other questions as to how can we prevent incidents like Guwahati from happening again and also whether there is no fear of the law in India. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said, "It's a case for intelligent policing. Secondly, it's a case for better deployment, better people at the right places, people who know policing. And third, co-opt people in peace time. Unless you co-opt civil defence, home guards, resident associations, market associations and even have cameras outside the pubs which means a case for co-option." BJP leader Smriti Irani said, "We've become a nation of headline chasers. Our outrage lasts till the headline lasts. We forget that girls molested and sexual harassment on the streets of this nation everyday." Human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover said stronger laws against sexual harassment and molestation were required in the country. "All of them are bailable offences. We have been pleading with the Home Ministry to please pass the Criminal Law amendment to change the law relating to sexual assault. It is not on the priority of the Home Ministry." The incident, which has sparked a nationwide outrage finally forced the Assam government into action. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi appointed a special task force to look into the matter. The Chief Minister talked tough on the incident saying, "No one has the right to molest anyone." "I have asked the police to keep a vigil on the anti-social elements," said Gogoi. A three-member National Commission for Women team will also be reaching Guwahati to condict a probe. Meanwhile, across Guwahati, posters of the 13 accused were put up to help the police nab them. Home Minister P Chidambaram had exhorted the state government to take action. The Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup District, Ashutosh Agnihotri, too said that strict action will be taken against the accused. He, however, admitted that the police could have acted faster. "The police could have been a little faster to reach the spot. I have asked the SP to inquire into the delay," he said. The Assam Police has managed to identify only 13 of the accused and arrest only four of them, almost five days after the incident. The victim had gone to celebrate her friend's birthday at a city bar where a man passed an obscene remark at her. This led to an altercation in the pub whose management asked them to leave. Once outside, the man followed her and passersby joined him.

The entire incident was shot on camera by a News Live cameraperson and is now viral on the Internet. Upon being questioned on the ethics behind shooting a molestation incident live and airing it, the channel said they did it "in public interest". Syed Zarir Hussain, the Managing Editor of the TV channel, said, "Had we stopped rolling the camera, these molesters would not have been arrested. What we did was in public interest. On the night this incident happened, we showed only the molesters. We took a call to show the incident the next day as we realised that the molesters would not have be arrested. Whatever we did, we did for public interest and it is because we showed the video that four people have been arrested." "The civil rights group in Assam had been insensitive to the incident," he added. He further said, "The police was informed the moment this incident happened. There were two camerapersons and two people cannot take on a mob. So do not blame the media. "How can the cameraperson be blamed for the accused looking at the camera and smiling?" he asked. "The serious point is that not a single group has come out on the street to protest against the incident. The media launched the campaign..." He went on to add, "There were lots of people shooting the incident on mobile phones. The TV camera was ours. We were at a strategic location and we reached there. The question of ethical and unethical comes later." The Assam DGP, Jayanta N Chaudhary, however, has promised action against the accused. He said, "The girl had gone to celebrate a friend's birthday... There (at the bar) they had a fight and the management asked them to leave as they were creating a ruckus over there... they came out and some hooligans saw her and tried to take advantage of her... She was assaulted but is not hospitalised... Whatever is there in the law books, we will do accordingly thanks to the coverage of media... They have been a great help." Crime rate against women second highest in Assam: NCRB The National Crime Records Bureau's NCRB latest statistics revealed that Assam has become one of most vulnerable places in the country in terms of crime against woman. - According to the latest NCRB figures, the rate of crime against women in Assam was the second highest in the country in 2011 with 36.6 per cent. -Assam's rate represents a jump from the 33.5 in 2010. -The state of Tripura, which topped the chart in the category, was only a marginal 0.1 per cent ahead last year. -Tripura has reported the highest rate of crime against women at 37.0 during the year 2011 as compared to 18.9 crime rate at the national level

-The NCRB report further said, There were 2, 28, 650 incidents of crimes against women in the country out of which Assam registered 11, 503 incidents. Nabajyoti Deka, one of the 18 accused in the molestation of a woman outside a bar in Guwahati on July 9 night, has pointed his finger at the TV channel reporter who allegedly staged the assault on the girl and nearly stripped her on a busy thoroughfare. Employees of the bar Deka and Diganta Basumatary were arrested on Saturday. On Friday, locals of Bishnupur village in western Assam's Chirang district had caught another accused Ghanashyam Mullick. "He was recognised despite shaving off his beard," said Chirang superintendent of police Sanjeev Krishna. Four of the accused were arrested on Thursday after a clip of the televised molestation, uploaded on YouTube, went viral and was picked up by major TV channels. The prime accused, Amarjyoti Kalita, is still absconding though there were unconfirmed reports of Odisha police having arrested him in Bhubaneswar. Deka and Basumatary were brought to the Bhangagarh police station in Guwahati on Saturday. The two confessed that the TV channel reporter, waiting outside the bar, began filming the molested girl - National Commission for Women representative Alka Lamba gave away her name - and her friends as they emerged from the bar. "A heated argument started when the girl objected to being filmed. The reporter asked why they had been drinking. Before we realised, things went out of control. I don't know what came over me and became a part of the drama," Deka said, indicating there was an element of instigation. Deka's confession matched with RTI activist Akhil Gogoi's allegations (backed with video footage handed over to the police). A key difference in Gogoi's version was that the reporter Gaurab Jyoti Neog and prime accused Kalita were drinking in a white Honda Brio car parked outside the bar. Kalita, according to him, passed lewd comments at the girl and her friends emerging from the bar. The reaction from the girls "prompted the voyeuristic video being passed off as social responsibility by the channel". Guwahati: Almost a week after the alleged molestation of a teenage girl by a mob brought shame to the whole nation, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Kumar Gogoi on Tuesday admitted that there were severe lapses in the police handling of the case. Addressing a press conference in the state capital, Gogoi said, I admit there were serious lapses on part of the local police, which was indifferent to the case and delayed a swift response.

The Assam Chief Minister was, however, quick to say that the alleged molestation of the teenage girl was not just a simple law and problem. Guwahati molestation is not just a law and order problem. It is beyond that and we need to reform the entire police force. The incident is an eye opener and now I want to strengthen the law and order situation in the state, he stated. Gogoi also expressed his gratitude to the media for reporting the incident and filming the alleged molestation of the victim by mob as it has now become credible evidence and helped in the culprits' arrest. The Chief Minister giving a word of caution to media said, Media needs to be very responsible. It should understand its limitations as well as its strength. Similarly, one should also take responsibility for his act. Apparently taking a dig on the former Editor-in-Chief of News Live Atanu Bhuyan, Gogoi said, Being a journalist he should have had the guts to face the Chief Minister. For the last 11 years, people have been writing against me. Whom did I pressurise? If he is a journalist, he should have the guts to face the chief minister. Why did he resign on apprehension? Gogoi asked. If he does not have the guts, he should not have been a journalist, he said. Gogoi also regretted that victims identity was accidently revealed not once but twice first by Alka Lamba from fact-finding team of National Commission for Women (NCW) and then by the Chief Ministers office. Gogoi yesterday met the girl and assured her of all possible help. Following the meeting, the CMs office issued a press release in which the victim's name was mentioned and her photograph was also shared. In a bid to do damage control, Gogoi's office immediately sent out an e-mail to reporters asking them to protect the girls identity. I regret that victims name was revealed by my office but we immediately corrected that mistake and asked the media not to publish her name, he said. The Assam Chief Minister also promised full protection to the victim, saying, The girl will be properly rehabilitated, provided full security and all necessary help from the state. The revelation of victims name led to widespread condemnation, including BJP's Smriti Irani who said it was violation of Supreme Court directives. Taking strong cognizance, the NCW removed Congress leader Alka Lamba from the fact-finding panel after during a press meet in Guwahati, she made public the victim's name.

Meanwhile, Guwahati's top police officer was also shunted out following public outrage over the molestation of the teenage girl outside a pub here and his controversial comments over the incident. City SSP Apurba Jiban Baruah, who had termed the Class XI student's ordeal as a stray incident that was hyped by the national media, has been transferred to Dibrugarh and replaced by SP of that city Arabinda Kalita.

Details of the incident 'from the horse's mouth' made several organizations and individuals to organise demonstrations outside Mint Bar (outside which the molestation happened) as well as the secretariat-assembly complex on Monday. A five-day assembly session began on Monday (July 16) amid furore and adjournments over deteriorating law and order. One of the protests was organized by a group of youths who generated opinions via Facebook, Orkut and other networking sites. Meanwhile, the police faulted bar owner Rajesh Jalan for informing the wrong police station the night the incident happened. "Jalan had called up Dispur police station (2km to the south adjoining the secretariat) instead of Bhangagarh police station (1.5km to the north) under which the bar falls. Nevertheless, we suspended Dispur police ASI Subhan Barua for not picking up the phone. Jalan's mobile phone record revealed he had called the number four times. He said he had the Dispur PS number saved because his residence is within that police station's jurisdiction," a senior police officer investigating the incident said. Assam police director general Jayanta Narayan Choudhury said they were hopeful of nabbing the other accused soon. "We have announced a reward of Rs. 50,000 for information on the prime accused (Kalita) and Rs. 25,000 on each of the other absconders," he said. Kalita, 32, is a resident of Anandapur locality in the Noonmati area of the city. Amtron, the state government-run IT agency had sacked him after the molestation incident generated outrage across the country. Victim names accused Neog's name was also mentioned by one of the accused arrested. Nabajyoti Deka, an employee of Club Mint, where the girl had gone, had been one of the men who heckled her. Deka and arrested colleague Diganta Basumatary had said the reporter, who was waiting outside the bar, began filming the girl and her friends as they emerged.

"A heated argument started when the girl objected," Deka said. "The reporter asked why they had been drinking. Before we realised, things went out of control." The victim, who spoke to a Congress women's delegation, also indicated that the reporter had a role to play, said a member of the delegation. So far, seven men have been arrested in the case. NCW removes Lamba Ex-DUSU chief Alka Lamba, who was part of the three-member National Commission for Women (NCW) probe team to Guwahati, meanwhile, was dropped from the team after she named the 16-year-old victim before the assembled media. As the country erupted in protest, NCW chief Mamta Sharma said, "We have removed Lamba from the team for disclosing the name of the victim. Nobody had authorised her to do so." Guwahati: RTI activist and Team Anna member Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday claimed that the recent molestation of a girl allegedly instigated by the reporter of a local news channel may have been part of a greater conspiracy to tarnish the image of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and destabilise the government. ''The channel is owned by a certain minister of the state whose wife is its CEO and the entire incident had been planned, directed, recorded, telecast and uploaded on You Tube by the news channel with a political motivation'', Gogoi said in a press conference here. ''We feel there may be a possibility that the entire incident was a part of a greater conspiracy to tarnish Gogoi's image and destabilise the government'', he said. He also stated that the Chief Minister was ''weak who kept his eyes closed like Dhritarashtra and it was high time he woke up''. The resignation of the channel's Editor-in-Chief Atanu Bhuyan has brought to the fore the control of a political class on the channel and ''we welcome the resignation and hope it will lead to more independence in Assam's media'', he said. Bhuyan claimed he resigned on the ground that the Chief Minister's comment yesterday on the role of the journalist and his demand for the resignation of both (Bhuyan and the reporter) could lead to pressure on the management.

Akhil Gogoi also demanded that the journalist Gaurav Jyoti Neog who allegedly instigated the incident, should be arrested immediately along with the prime accused Amarjyoti Kalita. ''We have information that both Neog and Kalita, who are the main culprits of the incident, have a good relation and the latter has been made to flee as many facts will be exposed if he is arrested'', he claimed. Three persons have been arrested on charges of molesting a girl in

Christianbasti locality along the busy Guwahati-Shillong road, close to the Dispur capital complex on Monday night, when she was coming out of a bar. Senior Superintendent of Police Apurba Jibon Barua told The Hindu that so far nine persons involved in the incident have been identified. Police were trying to identify the others. The Assam State Commission for Women has taken suo motu notice of the case and convened a sitting of the full Commission on Friday, said Commission chairperson Meera Barooah. It is a heinous crime and we strongly condemn it, she added. Rescued by DSP Giving details of the incident, the Senior Superintendent of Police said some people attacked the girl after she came out of the bar and molested her. The girl was later rescued by a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a few passers-by. A police team also reached the spot. We are investigating the case. As of now our immediate priority is to identify and arrest the culprits. There could be some 10-12 who were actually involved in the crime while others were bystanders, he added. Mr. Barua said the police were identifying the culprits on the basis of footage of television news channels. Task force to be formed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi strongly condemned the incident. Mr. Gogoi said on the sidelines of a meeting that the State government was highly concerned over such incidents. A task force would be formed to tackle and prevent such crimes against women. He also said the police had been directed to keep a strong vigil to prevent such incidents.

The Assam government has assured the Centre that it will take quick action against the culprits responsible for molestation case in Guwahati. A 16-year-old girl was assaulted and molested in public view on July 9 it was also video recorded by a local journalist. When Union home secretary RK Singh contacted Assam director general of police of Assam JN Choudhury for an update in the investigation into the incident, the DGP said there was prima facie evidence suggesting that the whole incident was orchestrated by a journalist of a local channel who would soon be questioned and arrested. Singh is understood to have told Choudhury to speed up investigations and arrest all the 14 culprits. The state police has so far arrested seven persons.

The Assam government has constituted a special investigation team headed by an SP, including a lady officer, for speedy investigation and arrest of the remaining youngsters. A DIG level officer will monitor the SITs progress on a daily basis and will directly report the DGP. The state government has also ordered a high-level inquiry by additional chief secretary, Emily Chowdhury. Overhauling of police is also on the anvil as it has come to the governments notice that the shameful incident could have been averted had the police acted in time, a senior MHA official said. Guwahati senior superintendent of police Apurba Jiban Barua, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, has been transferred to Dibrugarh. Now, Dibrugarh SP Arabinda Kalita will take over as SSP Guwahati. To ensure that such incidents are not repeated, the Assam government, as a precautionary measure, has given strict instructions to all bar owners in Guwahati to install close circuit television cameras and post private security guard on the gate leading to the bar, the official added.