Guwahati, Jul 17: In what can be described as adding insult to injury, the victim of the Guwahati molestation case had to suffer further setback due to the apparent lack of sensitivity by government bodies. The Class XI student, who was brutally assaulted by a mob of more than 50 men in public, had to face more humiliation when her identity was revealed first by Alka Lamba from fact-finding team of National Commission for Women (NCW) and then by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s office.

The CM met the victim of the assault and she was promised of all help to expedite the probe to bring the molesters to book. In the course of offering help, the CM’s office revealed the name of the victim and her photograph was shared with press personnel. Caught unawares of the gravity of the situation, the CM’s office realising the mistake immediately sent across an e-mail to reporters asking them to protest the girl’s identity.

Earlier, Alka Lamba was also caught in controversy when she too revealed the name of the victim in a packed press conference. In an effort to curb the damage, the NCW removed Lamba, also a Congress leader from the fact-finding panel.

Taking up the matter and highlighting the lack of sensitivity, the Opposition termed the incident a violation of Supreme Court’s order. Quick to react, NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma stated, “We have removed Lamba from the team. She was one of the members of the fact-finding team. It was wrong on her part to publicise the name of the victim. That is the reason she was removed.”

Meanwhile, the City SSP Apurba Jiban Baruah was transferred for his indifferent comment where he stated the Guwahati case as a stray incident that was hyped by the national media. Following a public outrage after the comment, he was transferred to Dibrugarh and replaced by SP of that city Arabinda Kalita.

The case is turning murkier with every passing day with a total of eight arrests so far. The key accused Amarjyoti Kalita is absconding since the incident took place and reports say that he has been traced to Bhubaneswar. The Odisha police, however, claimed that they haven’t received any notification from the Assam police on the matter.