Skip to content Skip to navigation

Kidnappings and Extortion in Assam: The numbers are staggering

The recent spurt in crime and violence in the state is a danger signal and needs to be curbed with immediate effect. There is an alarming rate of dacoities where single elderly people have been targeted resulting in their death in many cases. Kidnappings are on the rise with murdered FCI official P C Ram, Cement Corporation of India’s mining engineer KN Jha who died of cardiac arrest while in captivity and junior engineer with PWD Ajay Deka being the newest victims. The statistics of abductions in the state in the year 2006 are staggering where a total of 303 adult males and 460 adult females were abducted of which 274 males and 384 females were recovered. Moreover there were a number of children kidnapped in the same year. About 365 male children and 690 female children were kidnapped out of which 337 male children and 648 female children were recovered. Out of theses staggering numbers there are others figures which do not find place in the police records as most of these cases are never reported.

Most female children as well as adults are in many cases pushed into the flesh trade sometimes by force or sometimes by luring them with better options of survival. A study conducted by the Global Organisation for Life Development, an NGO, in co ordination wit the Guwahati police has revealed that a startling 14 percent of those involved in prostitution are children aged between 10 and 17. Child prostitution is a direct outcome of poverty where many children are initiated into the trade by acquaintances or relatives and sadly in some cases even their own parents have played roles of their children’s pimps. Extortion has become a convenient source of pocketing some fast bucks which is luring the youth in hoards. The police are unable to contain this menace owing to manpower shortage and public apathy. The public should arise from their complacency and voice their opinions against such lawlessness. Political parties should take constructive steps by working with the government and bring the culprits to book instead of lambasting the government at every given opportunity. For demanding a change in governance is not the solution to every problem in the state but proper planning towards eradication of such evils and implementation of these plans will only solve these problems. If timely action is not taken these evils will take roots in our society and turn it into total anarchy.

Comments

jay's picture

Courageous article, needs implementation at grass root level.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Voting concludes; eyes fixed on Sep 16

13 Sep 2014 - 5:01pm | AT News
Amid tight security, polling passed off peacefully in Jamunamukh where 165,718 voters have sealed the fate of five candidates in the electronic voting machines on Saturday.The polling percentage is a...

AGP retains Sonowal in Dibrugarh, Sarma in Lakhimpur

28 Aug 2008 - 4:05am | editor
The main Opposition party Asom Gana Parishad retains its sitting MP Sarbananda Sonowal in Dibrugarh and Dr Arun Sarma in Lakhimpur constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.According to...

Mild tremor strikes state

1 Jul 2012 - 4:47pm | editor
Yet another mild tremor jolted Assam on Sunday in the time of flood. The mild tremor of 4.3 struck at 9.55 in the morning creating panic among the people. Panic-stricken people in many flood relief...

Kokrajhar to host Children Science Cong

21 Oct 2017 - 11:42pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Massive preparations are going on full swing in Kojrajhar to host the Silver Jubilee of the National Children’s Science Congress, Assam (NCSC) from October 25. Huge pandals, exit and entrance...

Other Contents by Author

The festival season has been set into motion with the celebration of Eid-Ul-Fitr today. The Muslims the world over assemble in various mosques and Iddgahs in order to offer Namaj and express their gratitude to Allah on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. The preparations for this joyous occasion start days in advance as devout muslims end the month long Ramadan fast. The word Eid signifies “greatest happiness” and Fitr stands for ‘breaking Fast”. The month of Ramadan is a sacred one for the Muslims, because it was in this month that the revealation of the holy Quran began and fasting as an obligatory institution was prescribed by Allah.But today the celebrations and...
The media which is a mirror of society has been broken into shards by the the guns of millitants in Manipur. The newspapers were missing from their usual stands in Manipur following threats and counter threats by rival factions of rebel organisation PREPAK over publication of a statement. According to the All Manipur Working Journalists Union the media was torn over a decision to publish a statement which a faction of the PREPAK wanted to publish while another opposed and threatened to react violently if published.The journalists fearing for their lives sought safety in the Imphal Press clubs instead of their homes for fear of persecution. But this is not unusual in manipur as earlier also...
We are celebrating Wild life week but as we read this hundreds of animals are falling prey to the poacher’s gun, succumbing to the onslaught of floods or becoming senseless victims of man’s cruelty. Destruction of natural habitat is a serious threat to wild life which deprives these wild animals of food shelter and water. Their quest for survival brings them in the proximity of human dwellings which in turn puts them in danger of being pelted with stones, bludgeoned by machetes or simply shot at point blank range. Indians are not abreast with the techniques of handling wild animals which stray into human habitation. Rough handling and terror of being attacked leads people to...
“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability, or the curse of intoxicating drinks ad drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the India of my dreams”. Mohandas Karam Chand GandhiSadly we Indians have failed to live up to the India of the mahatma’s dreams. For India is still afflicted by the maladies that the Mahatma...
The Assam Lekhika Santha, a forum of women writers from the state organized a two day North East women writer’s meet on September 30 and October 1 in Shilpa Gram Panjabari Guwahati. The aim of the meet is to promote integrity among the north-eastern states and to provide a common platform to the women writers from the region.The eminent writers who were to grace the occasion are Mamang Dai and Nanni Dai from Arunachal Pradesh, Dr Limattula and Dr Temsula Ao from Nagaland, Dr Shanti Kshetri from Sikkim, Dr Shilaramani Changkham from Manipur, Karabi Deb Barman from Tripura, P Kolongungi from Mizoram, Patricia Mukhim and Al Varin Dokher from Meghalaya and other noted writers from the...
The paeans had not yet subsided regarding the communal and ethnic unity and harmony that the Indian Idol finalists had brought about in the states of Sikim and Meghalaya and the northeast for that matter that pandemonium broke loose. The fans of newly crowned Indian Idol Prashant Tamang erupted in fury at jibes made on their idol by a Radio Jockey of a Delhi based FM station. The 2000 odd fans of Tamang undertook a procession in Siliguri to submit a memorandum to the local SDO but the march turned into mayhem as they indulged into a controversy regarding the passage of an ambulance carrying a patient. The tiff led to widespread arson and triggered a chain of violence which brought in the...
Lucky Mahanta was a handsome lad in his school days, always ahead of his class academically and a bright boy indeed. After passing his Higher Secondary from a reputed boy’s school in Assam he went on to pursue higher studies in the capital city of India, a trend that is an in thing these days and gaining popularity by the day. But soon Lucky’s disposition changed his grades fell and so did his friend circle. He started hanging out with shady characters and formed a group of his own. Slowly he started borrowing money from his college mates and sometimes even begged for a couple of bucks. He sold his car and other expensive belongings to make ends meet. Vicky is now a mere shadow...
Indian television is experiencing a new revolution in the form of reality shows. There is a deluge of reality shows in each and every channel that you turn on. MTV Roadies, Popstar ki khoj in Channel V, Big Boss a rip off from the British show called Big Brother of Shilpa Shetty fame, and the plethora of singing contests from Voice of India in Star Plus, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, challenge in ZEE to the Indian Idol in Sony reality shows have captured the viewers imagination. The northeast has not yet forgotten the frenzy created by Debojit Saha’s victory in one such contest that catapulted the struggling singer into a house hold name overnight and now the northeast people are in crossroads once...
The rising price of onions is bringing real tears in the eyes of the consumers. The onion vendors are pricing them at exorbitant prices forcing the public to opt for an onion free diet. Onions are an inherent part of Indian cuisine hence such a situation greatly distresses the common people.The price rise is a direct outcome of the delay of trains bringing consignments of onions coming from outside the state.The All Guwahati Potato Onion Merchants’ Association (AGPOMA) has allegedly approached Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to look into the matter. The late arrival has also led to the damage of thousands of these products further escalating the prices of these perishables....
Manipur’s human rights activist Irom Sharmila who has been on a fast-unto-death since November, 2000 seeking the repressive Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act repealed. She opposes the Act that gives draconian powers to the security forces and has repeatedly been used with brazen brutality in the Northeast. For five years, she has been imprisoned and force-fed by the State for her ‘crime’. Irom Sharmila’s lone battle against the government is a proof of the grit and determination of a woman scorned.Popularly known as the iron lady of Manipur Irom Sharmila has approached UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for help by handing over a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi to Sandeep...