NGO Umeedd’s efforts get 24-year-old arrested for sexually abusing his own minor student

As per data shared by ‘Umeedd – A better tomorrow’ an NGO headquartered in Silchar, there has been a rise in the number of Child Sexual Abuse cases amidst the lockdown. Homes used to be the safest of all the places for every kid but these days, unfortunately, it’s not. In fact, most of the cases of child abuse, according to the NGO, happen at homes and surroundings.

The NGO found that since April, three cases of sexual abuse took place in Barak Valley. The first case where a 50-year-old man was accused of molesting a nine-year-old child on April 17, at Shivergul. Within 11 days of that, the second case was reported at Botertol on April 29, where a grandfather (68) was accused of having raped his granddaughter (9). The third case was of a minor molesting a five-year-old child, who was his neighbour.

On May 24, another tragic case came to light. A video screenshot has gotten viral on Facebook where the picture showed a blurry image of a child in a sexual act. The screenshot was posted to create awareness and to find out the identity of the victim.

‘Umeedd-a better tomorrow’, has been working on Child Sex Abuse, it’s prevention and awareness, started following the source of the screenshot and found a pornographic video where it shows a child of around seven, being sexually abused by a man identified as Gautam Deb who operates a Facebook account “Reep Deb.”

On the very next day, President and Secretary of Umeedd, Ananya Choudhury, and Shamik Chanda, respectively, along with two other members filed an FIR at Silchar Sadar Police Station. The Officer-in-Charge of Rangirkhari Police Outpost later arrested the abuser.

Choudhury shared that the accused accepted the fact that he had recorded the video himself and circulated it to his friends. The abuser used to give the child home tuition which eventually came to a halt in the month of February. The offender also used to work at an office that happens to be situated on the ground floor of the victim’s house and this is where the incident happened.

Shamik Chanda added that the accused in his statement to the police said that he had consent from the child while doing so, which is completely unacceptable. “How can a kid give consent for molesting? Would a seven-year-old even know what consent means? What does a good touch and bad touch mean?” he questioned. He also said that the child seemed to be quite okay with what was going on with him and it felt like he was not new to it.

The team of Umeedd have requested the SP and OC to get the victim medically tested and provide some counseling too. The members have also thoroughly explored the Facebook profile of the abuser and found him surrounded by other children too and have also requested to trace them down and get tested.

The team further shared that they have received calls and were pressurised to distance themselves from this case for the sake of their future. However,  they are ascertained for justice and have decided to continue with it.