OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: The Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) on Wednesday demanded dignified rehabilitation to Bhumka gangrape victims from the BTC authority and termed January 25 and 27, 1988, as the darkest days in the history of India. The BJSM termed these two days as unforgettably shameful days, when ten innocent Bodo girls of 12 No. Bhumka village in Kokrajhar district were gangraped by Assam police personnel in uniform during the AGP regime.
A team of the BJSM led by Working President DD Narzary and comprising Rao Khungur Basumatary, Ganesh Basumatary, Birendra Kumar Basumatary, Gapinath Basumatary, and Dhaneswar Brahma visited the remote Bhumka village on Tuesday and shared the deep sorrow, pain, and anguish of the victim families. The gangrapes were committed on three girls on the night of January 25 and seven girls on the night of January 27 in 1988, ironically at a time when the nation was celebrating the Republic Day. Narzary said that the Bhumka gangrape case drew national attention when it was taken up suo motu by the Gauhati High Court, under the then Chief Justice Gumanmal Lodha, who expressed deep shock upon learning about the crime from newspaper reports while on an evening ferry ride on the Brahmaputra river, as recorded in his verdict. He also said that the court ordered a CBI investigation, suspension of the Kokrajhar SP, and payment of Rs 25,000 as compensation to each victim. However, despite the CBI investigation, justice was never delivered, he lamented. The BJSM leader said that in the closure report, the CBI admitted that the rapes had indeed occurred, but cited non-cooperation by the police machinery as the reason for failing to identify the culprits. Thus, very regrettably, even the highest investigating agency of the country failed to ensure justice to the Bodo tribal victim girls, he said, adding, “The BJSM pays its highest respect, salute and unwavering solidarity to the victim sisters of Bhumka and their families, who are now women leading lives of silent suffering.”