GUWAHATI, Aug 25 (PTI): Women leaders of the opposition Congress on Thursday met Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and demanded strict punishment for those “abetting the suicide” of BJP leader Indrani Tahbildar.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), in a memorandum, urged the governor to take stringent action against those accused in the suicide case and are also alleged to be involved in the cash-for-jobs scam.
“APCC expresses deepest concern… APCC condemns the web of unholy nexus of cash-for-job scam that has been exposed with the arrest of some of the persons belonging to the BJP involved in the (suicide) case,” it added.
This incident has shocked not only the people of Assam but also the entire nation and the APCC strongly feels that it also exposes the vulnerability regarding the safety and dignity of women in Assam, the memorandum said.
“The leak of photos on social media by her own party men leading to her suicide speaks volumes about how social media is being used as a tool to compel a person to take the extreme step of ending one’s life,” it stated.
BJP Kisan Morcha leader Indrani Tahbildar allegedly died by suicide on August 11 by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills after her intimate photos with another BJP leader went viral on social media.
Two persons, including one who was expelled from the primary membership of the party after the suicide, have been arrested by the police so far.
“Moreover, the leak of audio clips on social media of conversations between the deceased and her colleagues also exposes the dangers of how people can be blackmailed through use of digital media,” the APCC memorandum said.
Since the persons, who are involved in taking cash for government jobs and are also related to the Indrani Tahbildar case, have themselves revealed their involvement in the scam and have already been arrested by Assam Police, they should be booked for corruption charges, it added.
The APCC said the accused must been booked under cybercrime, blackmailing and abetment to suicide charges and under no circumstances, they should be allowed to go scot-free.
“Their stringent punishment should be a lesson for every such person with a criminal mind so that they will think twice before using social media to defame any woman that compels her to take her life,” it added.
The opposition party further alleged that the circumstances leading to the suicide of Tahbildar exposes a “ring of corruption” in cash for jobs under the present BJP-led Assam government.
“Since the central and state governments claim to have zero tolerance for corruption, we urge your good office to take cognisance of the corruption that is going on within the ruling BJP partymen and punish those involved in such activities,” it added.
