Woman assaulted in 'moral policing' case, 1 held

In a case of 'moral policing', a woman was allegedly assaulted by a group of men for enjoying a picnic with her friends in Garo Hills of Meghalaya with a video of the incident uploaded on social media, police said today.

A person was taken into custody in connection with the incident, the police said.

The video which was shot near Chibinang village in West Garo Hills, shows a mob purportedly assaulting and shaming the young woman. The date of the incident was not known.

The place of the incident was narrowed down to the Mronggre-Bikonggre area where the woman had gone out with her friends for the picnic, the police said.

The police have identified and arrested the main accused Biren Sangma, while his accomplice Martin B Sanhave managed to escape.

Superintendent of Police (SP) of West Garo Hills Dr M G R Kumar said, "She was assaulted by the group, led by Biren Sangma, who did not like her presence in a picnic along with her other friends.

"We have contacted the South West Garo Hills district (SWGH) police for further action in the case. While Biren Sangma has been taken into custody yesterday night, the other accused in the case have fled. Police squads have been mobilised to arrest the other culprits," he said.

The incident occurred in the presence of a number of people. Most of them were bystanders and watched the woman's assault.

A resident of the area said on the condition of anonymity, the culprits caught hold of the woman and began to thrash her, "accusing her of selling herself".

"She was thrown on the ground before she was kicked in the stomach, legs and hands," the resident said.

Though the victim, who is from SWGH district has not filed an FIR yet, a suo motu FIR was lodged by the police at Phulbari police station yesterday.