Shillong, June 17: The chairperson of Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW), Phidalia Toi has sought action against the police for failing to act on the complaint of domestic violence by the wife against her husband Joefreeson Jana, who allegedly killed their two minor children at a forest in Nongrah Nonglum on May 30.
“We will write to the Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui and we will insist that this kind of insensitivity and lethargic habit of the law enforcers should be done away with as we cannot accept this as women are going to the police station for serious cases and not just for the sake of going there,” Toi told journalists at a press conference, on Friday.
The mother of the victims had gone to the Rynjah police station on May 27 and the murder of the minors took place on May 30.
If the police had acted on time, the crime incident would not have happened, the commission felt.
When asked, Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said he is yet to receive the report and hence refused to comment on the matter.
The incident could have been avoided had the police taken prompt action on the complaint filed by the mother of the two children on May 27″, Toi added.
“Three days before the tragic incident, the mother had gone to the police station to complain that her husband had assaulted her on the roadside while she was on her way to work but the police did not take any action and only said that it was a family dispute that needs to be resolved through counseling since her husband was an alcoholic,” Toi said.
She said the husband was a habitual abuser and the crime must be an act of revenge.
Toi said the commission met the officer-in-charge and the investigation officer of Rynjah police station to get their response.
“Therefore, the findings of the women commission are that there was a gross negligence of the police to take action against the accused. Had they been prompt to do the needful, the incident could have been prevented,” she added.
Toi said the members of the commission held a meeting and “Our resolution is that come what may we will insist that this thing will not happen again.”
No credit to police
To a question, the chairperson said that no credit can be given to the police as everything was handled by the community.
While the relatives had found the bodies of the minors, it was the family of the accused who had handed him over to the police.
The chairperson also pointed out that the police should have sent its personnel to search for the missing children on May 29 night as no help came from the police after the family members went to Rynjah police station for assistance.
Earlier, the relatives said that the police had asked them to bring photos of the children and come after 24 hours.
The bodies of the minors were found on May 31 morning.
“Because there was no action taken by the police. That is why we will strongly recommend to the government to take strong action on this,” she asserted.
To a question on the fear of people from filing domestic violence cases, Toi said, “Sometimes people don’t want to file the case because they are afraid. We don’t know if maybe there is a threat as what happened to those two kids was a kind of revenge because that mother had gone to the police station to report about the assault. Maybe they are afraid and let us say there are many reasons for people not to file FIR.”
Alternative action ignored
According to Toi, alternative action as per the Domestic Violence Act was ingnored by the police.
She added that there is an alternative for the police to take action in case women do not want to file FIR.
The coordinator of the commission, Annie Sohtun said that as the matter was related to domestic violence, the police should have forwarded the case to One Stop Centre where a protection officer is available.
The mother would have got immediate relief as per Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, she said.
“We will recommend that all domestic violence cases should be treated as per the Act”, Toi said.
According to Toi, the Domestic Violence Act is to provide immediate relief to women even if they are not willing to file FIR.
“The Domestic Incident Report is a civil law so she will immediately get relief thanks to the intervention of the protection officer. So necessary action will be according to what she gives her story,” she said.
The chairperson admitted that there are two versions- one from the woman and another from the police -regarding the filing of the case.
Even if the woman did not want to follow up the case, it was the durty of the police to take forward the matter with One Stop Centre, she said.
Police opted for counselling
The legal advisor of the commission, Deity H Majaw said the police have failed beyond doubt. As the husband of the lady was a habitual offender and an alcoholic and mentally disturbed, police should have acted on the complaint of the woman.
The IPS officer in-charge of Rynjah police station told the commission that instead of filing case, counselling was given to the accused.
“When we asked whether the police station has any professional counsellor , the answer was no”, Majaw added
29-year-old Jana was handed over to police by his relatives on May 31 evening, after the bodies of his two children, aged 4 and 2 years old, were found from the forest.
The accused was booked under section 364 and 302 for abduction and murder.
