GANGTOK: Until yesterday, Sikkim Nagrik Samaj wanted justice for an alleged rape victim, but today, they find themselves with egg on their faces after the alleged victim’s press conference.
The alleged case involved Chief Minister’s Political Secretary Jacob Khaling and of course, there were political points to be won. But Doncee Lama, the alleged victim, has termed the entire rape accusation to be fake. A member of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha since 2012-13, Lama claims that her consent was never taken before her name was floated in the allegations by the Sikkim Nagrik Samaj.
“I had never submitted an FIR, if such was the case, I would have walked to the Police Station instead of posting it via mail. The contents of the fake FIR, my signature are all fake,” she said.
Lama went on to admit that she was indeed called to the Sadar Police Station around July 15-16. She claimed, “I was interrogated by a female Sub Inspector and upon learning the fake FIR, I was shocked. Based on which I filed a counter general diary on July 20 claiming that the FIR was fake in an attempt to defame me.”
Following the explosive press conference on August 21 by Sikkim Nagrik Samaj’s (SNS) general secretary Pasang Sherpa, the supposed FIR went viral with Doncee Lama’s name and signature on it. While SNS, in their expose, didn’t reveal the name of the victim, they floated the name of the alleged accused, Jacob Khaling.
Despite the name not being revealed, Doncee Lama filed an FIR late last night at Sadar Police Station against SNS and its members. The FIR was titled with the names of Passang Gyali Sherpa, Tseten Tashi, Bharat Basnet and others. Lama claims she filed an FIR under the IPC 419 punishment for cheating by impersonation, IPC 469 forgery for purpose of harming reputation, IPC 500 punishment for defamation and IPC 34 acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention, demanding the arrest of SNS members.
Doncee said all the drama has sabotaged all that she has worked for all these years. “They have defamed me, the FIR had my name. SNS members know me personally, they could have cross-verified. I used to take Pasang Sherpa to be a youth icon, but he circulated the fake FIR and its contents for political mileage. It was a case of shots being fired from my shoulders. The comments across social media are very demeaning and it has caused me mental harassment. These are accusations on the modesty of a woman, which the police must investigate, take strict actions and arrest them.”
On accusations floated against Khaling and her equation with the Political Secretary, Lama said, “I give him clean chit in the case. I have known him since 2012. We have worked together for years since I joined the SKM party. We used to run SKM social media together. Even during the recent municipal elections, I contested independently, giving up my position in the party. I fought elections and lost and have always considered it to be a good learning experience. The vehicle being gifted to me are all fake, it was through my father’s pension for my travel. The rumours or claims in the fake FIR that I was with Jacob Khaling in November, I had no idea where I was in November on that specific day.”
On being asked if it was right to file FIR against SNS when they didn’t reveal her name, Lama said, “They held the documents, the allowed media to take pictures of the fake FIR with my name on it. They will be held responsible as they ignited the incident through their press conference.”
EastMojo spoke to SP East about the veracity of the FIR, which the SNS had claimed to be true. Siva Prasad Yellasiri, the Superintendent of Police (East), corroborated Lama’s version.
“We inquired into the matter long back with the so-called complainant in that letter. She denied posting that letter. Someone played mischief to defame the government and the political secretary. Her denial led us to close the inquiry. There is no FIR registered,” the SP said.
The alleged incident happened in November 2020, and the complaint came in July 2021, seven months later.
“I marked it to the concerned authority to do an inquiry. We got the letter around July 12. The police team from Sadar Thana did an inquiry, she was called and she said the letter was never posted by her. She said someone is trying to defame, and defamation is a cognizable offence, so we told her to approach the judiciary. The inquiry was closed after July 20. It was done in two to three days after the inquiry,” the SP added.
