This news, *IF TRUE*, is a darn shame, and if it *is NOT, *then we should all join hand in vehemently protesting to the TOI, and demand that the publish clarifications prominently and apologize to Assam & her people.
--Ram *Mob strips woman protester in Guwahati *27 Nov 2007, 0001 hrs IST,TNN SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates GUWAHATI: Like in most bandhs and protests, poor adivasi workers from the once lush tea gardens of Assam did dent business and damage some property as they marched through Guwahati to demand inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list which will help them get easier access to education and jobs. But it was one adivasi woman who bore the brunt of the anger of local residents. She was attacked, her clothes were ripped off and a mob chased the naked woman along the streets. Ducking from prying eyes and TV cameras and terrified by screams of a mob chasing her, the woman ran until some other residents rescued her on Saturday and gave her clothes and cover both from the lathi-wielding police and the assailants. Two days later, after the protests spiralled as news of the attack on the woman got out, Assam's CM Tarun Gogoi said he was enraged by the crowd behaviour and police said three of the assailants had been arrested. He announced a Rs 1 lakh compensation for the woman, whose identity was not disclosed. "I am horrified by the incident. I cannot believe how people can be so inhuman and barbaric. Everybody seems to have lost their sense," said Gogoi on Monday. The CM also announced a judicial inquiry into Saturday's violence. Police said three men were picked up from their houses early Monday. They were identified as Prasenjit Chakravorty (28), owner of a fast food joint, Ratul Barman (18), a hotel waiter, and Sudip Chakdar (20), a pan shop owner. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Sibu Soren, who has pitched in for Assam's adivasi migrants, said the incident demonstrated the racial hatred for tribals. "I have also led many agitations, but never had we targeted women. Adivasis across the country are always looked down upon and do not get the respect they deserve from people and the government as a whole," Soren said on Monday after visiting injured protesters. Former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi also waded in as the bandh took a tribal vs non-tribal hue. He flew into Guwahati Monday afternoon and went straight for a press conference with the main opposition party Assam Gana Parishad (AGP). "This is a conspiracy hatched by Congress government," he charged. Although Guwahati remained largely peaceful in the last phase of the 36-hour protest that began on Saturday, the stripping incident gave it a new impetus in many areas where the sponsors, the All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam, had clout. Sporadic violence was reported and bandh supporters attacked one vehicle at Karigaon in Kokrajhar district, killing one person and injuring two others. So far, at least six people have been killed in clashes between adivasi activists and local people. About 250 people have been injured in police action or clashes.
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