Vehicular traffic on Tata-Kandra Road came to standstill on Wednesday for more than three hours as a tribal outfit set up a blockade at Gamharia market to protest the alleged molestation of a tribal girl and police failure to nab the accused. Under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Adivashi Mahasabha's Seraikela-Kharsawan unit, over 2000 tribals gathered with traditional weapons to protest.
The accused, Nawal Chowdhury (48), owner of a medical store at the Gamharia market, had allegedly molested a tribal girl on Sunday night when the victim had gone to purchase medicines to the store. After the incident, the victim girl, a resident of Gamharia, raised voice, prompting massive protest. A local politician, Basko Besra, ransacked the medical shop. The residents staged a gherao of Adityapur police station on Tuesday demanding the arrest of the accused. Today the same outfit staged a road blockade on the Tata-Kandra Road demanding the arrest of the accused. The blockade was lifted at about 12.30 noon after the officer-in-charge, Adityapur police station, Ajay Kumar gave a written undertaking to the protestors that they will arrest the accused on Wednesday. "The protest was massive and we have no choice but to give assurance of arresting. I along with the Circle Officer, Gamharia Jitendra Munda gave written undertaking to the protestors for the arrest of Chowdhury by 10 pm today. The protestors removed the blockade only after the written assurance was given to them," revealed Kumar. He said the accused, who is a resident of Gamharia market area is absconding, but raids are being conducted to arrest him. Harmohan Manjhi, of Seraikela-Kharsawan unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Mahasabha said that this was the second incident of a tribal woman to have fallen victim to sexual harassment in public.