IANS Monday, 26 November , 2007, 23:23 *Guwahati:* Three youths, two of them postgraduates, were arrested in Guwahati on Monday on charges of stripping a tribal woman during a protest march, after photographs of the horrifying act made national headlines and triggered outrage.
The incident took place on Saturday during a clash between local residents and tribal protestors belonging to the All Adivasi Students Association (AASA), in which one person was killed and more than 200 wounded. As the mob violence spilled over to various city localities, a group of youths stripped a young Adivasi woman in full public gaze and later kicked and punched her private parts. The photographs of the terrorized woman running naked for her life in one of the city's main thoroughfares in broad daylight were splashed in local newspapers, evoking a nationwide debate about the police inaction. "This is a shameful act. We have arrested three youths after identifying them from television footages and newspaper photographs," Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists. The incident evoked angry reaction from rights groups and from all sections of the society. "This was a moronic act committed by a hoodlum fringe and this incident was perhaps the darkest face ever Guwahati has shown to the outside world," an angry Mala Baishya, a college teacher, said. Some people who saw the panic-stricken woman running naked took off their shirts and helped her cover herself, before arranging a vehicle to ferry her to the nearest police station. "At least there were some good people who came to her rescue," Pritam Bordoloi, a doctor, said. Police have framed charges ranging from rape to molestation on the three youths. The Chief Minister has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the woman. "The woman is now totally traumatized after the incident... We are planning to send her out of Assam for counselling and are thinking of putting her in a convent so that she does not suffer from humiliation and shame," a senior tribal leader told *IANS* requesting not to be named. The identity of the woman was being protected to avoid further mental trauma to the victim and her family. sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14566911 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Outrage over Assam woman assault * BBC News, Calcutta [image: Tribals being beaten in Assam] Hundreds of tribals were wounded in the attack *Shocking pictures of a tribal woman being stripped and assaulted in India's north-eastern state of Assam have caused widespread outrage.* Three men arrested for the assault have been produced in court and remanded in police custody for 15 days. Police tracked down the alleged attackers who were filmed by television cameras during Saturday's clashes between the tribals and local people. The state government has announced a judicial inquiry into the attack. *'Beastly attack'* "This is a shock to the Assamese society as a whole," Mridula Saharia, chairwoman of the Assam State Commission for Women, told the BBC. "I cannot believe this is happening in Assam." [image: A soldier stands guard over tribal protestors in Assam] The tribals are demanding better opportunities Other women's groups and civil society activists in Assam have also expressed shock and called for tough action against the attackers. The footage showed the unidentified woman being chased through the streets by three men wielding wooden clubs. They tore off her clothes, beat her and kicked her as she tried to protect herself. As the terrified woman ran naked through the streets, she was rescued by some local people. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has announced a judicial inquiry into Saturday's violence after the TV footage caused a furore across the country. "I cannot see how people can become so beastly," Mr Gogoi said. *Shops damaged* After analysing the TV footage, police arrested 18 people for Saturday's violence, including the three alleged attackers. "The three men are in our custody and we will charge them with outraging the modesty of the tribal woman and for physical assault," Assam police chief RN Mathur said. [image: Map of Assam] The three men arrested for the assault on the tribal woman include the owner of a fast-food restaurant in Guwahati. The restaurant was among hundreds of shops damaged when tribals attending a rally in the city on Saturday ran amok, smashing cars and shops, when police refused them permission to hold a procession. After police managed to scatter the tribal protesters, angry locals attacked them. The tribals say at least 20 of their people were killed but the chief minister insists only two people died. Meanwhile, a 36-hour strike called by tribal groups has paralysed life in large parts of western and northern Assam. The "Adivasis" or tribals are descendants of those brought from central India by the British more than a century ago to work in the tea gardens of Assam as indentured labour. They are now demanding recognition as a "Scheduled Tribe" which would bring them benefits in education and employment. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7114348.stm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
