4 Sep :Protesting against the ever increasing crime and domestic violence committed against the women and demeaning women status in our Naga society today and the increasing instances of violence against women which included the rape of a pregnant women by four accused at Showuba village on 27th August 2008
, rape and murder of Anukampa Dhan, a fifteen year old student whose body was found inside the Mount Carmel School Campus on August 17th and a wife who has been murdered by her own husband at Thahekhu Village on 29th August, the Naga Women Hoho (NWHD) organized a peace protest rally on 3rd September 2008 from Walford Junction to Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Dimapur and submitted a three point memorandum to DC, Dimapur.
The three memorandum demanded by NWHD were that the rape and murder of Lt. Anukamba Dhan be made thorough and fair investigation to arrest the culprits, it also stated that ‘It is not sufficient to apprehend and detain certain people on grounds of suspicion but the law enforcement agencies must leave no stones unturned to solve the case and arrest the real culprit/culprits’. The Naga Hoho also demanded that the four accused on the August 27th rape of a pregnant mother at old Showuba be persecuted as per the relevant criminal Act and that public prosecutor be made to draw up a strong case seeking a minimum sentence of Ten Years for all accused. The women also demanded that the district authority coordinate with the law enforcement agencies in handling the case with all sensitivity and ensure that the investigation process is not influence and mislead by any verdict pronounced by the “ customary court “ or any compromise / settlement made between the parties to the case. Naga Women also strongly object to any attempts made to seek or grant bail to the four accused and further warned that any representative seeking bail for the accused will be held responsible for any untoward incident.
DC, Dimapur Maongwati Aier after receiving the memorandum assured the Women Hoho that the accused in the rape of the pregnant woman will not be granted bail and that they would be tried under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which will be a minimum of seven years or even life imprisonment. He also assured that he would immediately dispatch the copies of the memorandum to the Governor and Chief Minister.
During the rally Naga women Hoho Dimapur President, Naga Council Dimapur, GBs & DBs Forum convener for Dimapur district and DNSU President addressed the gathering which was attended by around four thousand participants which included women representatives from various tribes and school students from different schools demanding justice for the rape victims.