State Social Welfare Minister in Assam Government on Wednesday condemned the incident where a troupe of dancers were allegedly forced to strip and molested at a cultural event in Chaygaon.
"I had conducted a meeting with the State Women Commission and DGP. I condemn this incident and assure that immediate action will be taken. These incidents keep happening from time to time repeatedly, being a women I am shaken by this and I assure you we will take steps to sanitise our society," Brahma told reporters here.
A mob of over 500 men had allegedly tried to force woman dancers of a troupe to strip during a cultural programme in Assam's Kamrup district organised during Eid.
Police had arrested a couple of accused while the hunt for others was underway after a case was filed on the basis of a complaint registered by the cultural troupe against the organisers of the programme.
Brahma further underlined the need of educating people to avoid any untoward incident from taking place.
"The culprits will definitely be punished, but I think we need to start awareness campaigns to educate the people. The state government will have to take action to ensure women and child security in the state," she said.
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Brahma added that NGOs will be roped in to start awareness campaigns to educate people so that such incidents do not happen in the future.
BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev, on the other hand, blamed illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for the incident.
"The demographical change in the state due to the influx of Bangladeshi Muslims is a real problem in the state. Many of the illegal immigrants' name came in the NRC draft which has given them a political right to display their 'dadagiri' to the Assamese people," Dev told reporters here.
Dev condemned the incident and added that the issue needed to be tackled quickly to ensure the safety of the "indigenous" population of the state.
"It has never happened in the past that Assamese girls are forced to strip on a cultural program organised on the day of Eid. It is an attack on the people of Assam, the criminal minded Bangladeshi Muslims are showing their true colours now. Strict action should be taken quickly to ensure the safety of our people," he said.