GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said he accepts responsibility for his office sharing the photo of the teenage girl who was molested and stripped outside a pub in this main Assam city.
Gogoi said that his office had not shared the name of the victim in the email sent to reporters.
He also pointed out that reporter was wrong in shooting for more than 20 minutes without helping the victim for TRP and not informing the police.
The chief minister also took potshots at the media over the entire episode, saying the latter should play a more responsible role.
"Media has to be responsible. It can't keep rolling the same visuals over and over again for TRP," he said.
Gogoi further said the media is projecting a wrong image of Assam.
"I am unhappy and angry and this is most condemnable. The media wanted to blame and project a negative picture of the Assamese society by giving the impression that women are not safe here," he said.
Tarun Gogoi has recieved a lot of criticism for being insensitive in issuing a press release with the name and photograph of the victim.
Gogoi met last evening with the Class XI student, who was molested on camera by a mob in Guwahati last week.
Gogoi assured the girl that the government will provide all protection and help for her rehabilitation. He also announced that the case will be handed over to CID.
He also criticized the local news channel that aired the footage of the molestation, saying its role was 'unethical'.
The Chief Minister's office sent out a press statement after the meeting that revealed the victim's name and shared her photograph.
The Chief Minister's office then called and retracted asking journalists not to release the photographs and ensure her identity was protected. They, however, went ahead releasing the name.
Earlier today, Atanu Bhuyan, editor-in-chief of News Live channel, has announced his decision to quit following widespread criticism of the telecast of the molestation of a teenage girl here July 9.
Channel reporter Gaurav Jyoti Neog was accused of instigating the mob to strip the teen after she came out of a pub on the busy G.S. Road. Neog resigned Sunday after a probe was ordered by the state government.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Monday accused Neog of being involved in the incident.
"After the chief minister's intervention, I feel that the inquiry against the reporter is not going to be impartial and there might be pressure on News Live from various sections to sack me. So, I have decided to quit," said Bhuyan.
"Prior to the July 9 incident, woman Congress legislator Rumi Nath was attacked in Assam's Barak Valley. Similarly, Team Anna member Akhil Gogoi was manhandled by a mob in Nalbari. In both the incidents, the chief minister neither named anyone nor ordered any inquiry. However, in the G.S. Road incident, he accused our reporter and promptly ordered an inquiry," he said.
A mob molested and stripped the teenage girl after she came out with her fiends from the restaurant-cum-bar Club Mint on the busy G.S. Road Monday night.
The clip of the girl being molested was also caught on camera and went viral on the net.
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