Guwahati molestation: 11 arrested, main accused still at large

Guwahati: Five more people have been arrested in connection with the molestation of a teenager outside a pub in Guwahati. This takes the total number of arrests so far to 11. However, the main suspect, Amar Jyoti Kalita, spotted in a red jersey in the video of the incident, is still absconding.

Police sources had said that Amar Jyoti Kalita might have fld to Odisha, and a search was on in Odisha. The latest arrest came hours after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's 48-hour deadline to nab the culprits ended.

Meanwhile, after the NCW sacked its member Alka Lamba for revealing the victim's identity, the Assam government repeated a similar blunder.

The Department of Information and Public Relations released the name of the victim and photographs of her meeting Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday - a clear violation of the law that says a victim's identity must always be protected and withheld.

The state government later requested the media to not carry the photograph or the name of the victim.

This happened even as NCW Chairperson Mamta Sharma apologised to the girl and her family for the lapse in discretion on part of its probe team member Alka Lamba, who has been sacked.

"I agree completely that it should not have happened, and for this, I apologise to the girl and her family."

Notably, the NCW was slated to submit its report by 2 pm on Monday, but it got delayed because of the faux pas on the part of the panel member.

The NCW member had even defended naming the victim, pointing that the report was not complete.

A three-member NCW team had visited Guwahati and met the victim on Saturday. They had blamed the police for reacting late in trying to save the girl.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi met the victim on Monday evening and promised more security and monetary relief to her.

Also, the SSP of Guwahati, Apurba Jiban Baruah, was transferred.

Even after one week of the incident the police have not been able to arrest all those involved in the heinous incident.

Tarun Gogoi's deadline to the police to nab all the suspects had ended on Monday to arrest all the 12 people identified in the video that went viral on the internet.