Gogoi apologises for victim's photograph faux pas

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today expressed apologies as his office on Monday mailed pictures of the 9 July molestation victim without blurring to different national and local media houses. The victim went to meet the chief minister on Monday. “This was a mistake. As soon as I came to know about it, I urged the media houses not to use the photographs and not to mention the name of the girl,” Gogoi told a press conference in Guwahati.[caption id=“attachment_380913” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Hidden identity. PTI[/caption] “The name is not the real one. Even if it was that would not cause much damage as there would be many with similar names. But photographs are different,” the chief minister said. Alka Lamba, a member of the National Commission for Women panel looking into the case, was removed on Sunday as she had revealed the identity of the girl in a press conference in Guwahati. Gogoi expressed concern with increasing crimes against women in the state. “I am worried that Assam is ranked very high in crime against women. Assam is not a solitary case. Crime against women also happens in metros like Delhi and Mumbai. But I am not justifying what happened in Guwahati on 9 July. This should not have happened,” the chief minister said. “It is alarming that Kerala being on the top of literacy rate chart is also topping the chart in crime against women,” he said. Gogoi said that with Guwahati growing everyday the behaviour of the people in the city are changing. “Guwahati is increasingly becoming a metropolitan. Times are changing. It is a social factor not a law and order situation alone,” he said. “I have requested the Tata Institute of Social Science will study this behaviour trend,” Gogoi said. The chief minister also praised another journalist Mukul Kalita, for his courage to protect the girl from the mob. “One should appreciate a journalist like Mukul Kalita who had the guts to try and protect the girl from the mob risking his life,” Gogoi said. The chief minister said that the victim wants to be an entrepreneur and the state government will help her. “My priority is to rehabilitate her. She wants to be an entrepreneur and open a beauty parlour,” he said.