Minor allegedly molested by neighbour

IMPHAL, February 21: Despite the state witnessing a sharp increase in cases of violence against women and girls in recent times, arousing protest and condemnation from all quarters of the society with several women bodies taking the lead, such crimes are continuing in the state.

Another minor girl has been allegedly molested by her 40 year old neighbor at a locality under Mayang Imphal Police Station in Imphal West district late yesterday evening.

An angry mob started dismantling the house of the accused today after the failure of the family to produce the accused before the general public by 11am. However police intervention controlled the mob from completely dismantling the house.

The accused identified as Asem Oken (40) son of Ahanjao of Mayang Imphal Chirai and presently staying at Uripok Bachaspati Leikai is a government employee posted at the Sekmai Primary Health Centre as a pharmacist.

A public meeting was held in the locality yesterday late night in the presence of both families during which the accussed’s father assured to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the girl's family and to produce the accused before the public by 10am of Thursday.

According to family members of the girl, the incident happened yesterday late in the evening when the victim was alone in her grandmother’s grocery shop at their residential gate as her mother was attending a marriage ceremony.

Her father who is a committee member of the locality and her younger sister had also accompanied her mother to the wedding while her grandmother had gone inside their house to get some vegetables from their kitchen garden leaving her all alone when the incident happened, the family member said.

Taking advantage of the situation, the accused molested the victim girl inside the shop, the family member said.

Speaking to media persons, the grandmother of the girl said that yesterday evening when she came out after completing her kitchen gardening she saw the accused Oken standing by the side of her shop while her granddaughter was inside the shop.

She continued that even though her granddaughter did not mention anything about the incident, she could feel everything was not right from her facial expressions.

But during the night, she narrated about the incident to her, she continued.

The girl told her that the accused molested her on the pretext of checking whether she had cancer and stopped only after some persons came nearby the shop, the grandmother said.

She informed her other family members and called out the local meira paibis.

Speaking to media persons, local meira paibi representatives said soon after receiving news of the incident the local club and meira paibis conducted an emergency meeting in the presence of both families where the father of the accused father Ahanjao had given a written assurance that the accused family will provide a compensation of 5 lakhs to the girl's family for outraging the modesty of  the minor girl.

After the failure of the accused family to turn up till 11:30 am, the locals went to check the house and found that there was no one which angered the locals and started dismantling the house, she said.

She also said that the local club members and meira paibi of the area had passed a resolution that none of the family would be allowed to settle in the locality anymore.