Arunachal: Teen girl abused, raped by govt employee; no arrests yet

In a ghastly incident, a teenage girl from Nepal has accused a family from Roing, Lower Dibang Valley, of physical, emotional and mental abuse over the years. The girl, who lived as domestic help with the family, ran away from the abusive home and is currently sheltered at a child care home in Arunachal Pradesh.

The 15-year-old girl, in her complaint earlier this month, issued a harrowing account of how Aka Kalung and his wife Jaya Kalung abused her over the years. The girl, whose parents work as a daily wage labourers in Nepal, had sent her to work at this family’s home as domestic help for Rs 1,500 a month.

However, the girl said in her complaint that one day, when she refused to wear a mask, Aka Kalung kicked her out of the house and ordered her to stay outside. After that, she ran away from home. 

However, once she reached the children’s home, she revealed disturbing details. While telling a professional about how she felt good “living with friends”, the girl spoke about how Aka Kalung had repeatedly assaulted her sexually and forced her to have sex with her.

“After sex, he (Aka) used to give the girl some medicine tablet to eat by force. Sometimes he would force the girl for a urine test and again, after the test, he would give her medicine to eat. He warned her not to share anything with anyone,” a person familiar with the matter told EastMojo. 

One day, when Jaya Kalung caught Aka Kalung abusing the girl, she beat up the girl, the record noted. 

Worryingly, the girl told officials at the care institute that her parents did not pay much attention to her problems and instead called her mentally deranged. The constant physical abuse had caused memory loss and she was unable to remember or memorise a lot of things, an official noted.

“According to her statement, Kalung’s family physically tortured her and her parents do not care or love her. Therefore, she does not want to go and wants to stay in a child care home,” a person familiar with the matter said. 

EastMojo tried to contact the local woman police officer for comments, but her phone was unreachable. This story will be updated as and when she responds. 

One person noted that the girl was “afraid and in trauma” following the mental, sexual and physical abuse and recommended the strictest punishment against the accused. 

A person familiar with the matter and assisting the girl told EastMojo that despite so much evidence against the culprit, the authorities have refused to take action.

“This man has violated multiple clauses of the POCSO Act. The girl is traumatised. She had been staying with this family for many years and this is what she got. But I am aghast at how little the administration cares. When she filed the FIR for the first time, there was almost no crucial information. The Police decided to exclude all the necessary details.”

He added that Kalung is being shielded by the authorities as he is a local and a government employee.

“What else explains this shocking indifference to such a heinous crime?” he asks. He said that he would ensure that this matter is brought to the notice of the child rights’ authorities. 

 “Unfortunately, the local media and officials have chosen to stay silent but I will not stay silent,” he added. 

This is not the first case of child abuse from Arunachal this month. In an equally shocking incident, a welfare society called upon the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) police and authorities to properly investigate the “unnatural death” of a six-year-old girl child and punish the culprits who committed the heinous crime.

Also read: Arunachal: Outrage over ‘inhuman torture, murder’ of 6-year-old girl