Ruckus after girls ‘forced to dance nude’ in Assam

Guwahati: In what has sent a shock wave across the state, members of a female traditional dance troupe invited to perform at an Id celebration were forced to dance nude by rowdy spectators at Asolpara village in Chaygaon in Assam’s Kamrup district.

Though the incident took place on Friday, it came to light on Sunday when the director of the dance group, Arup D. Rabha, lodged a complaint with the police.

Expressing his deep anguish over the incident, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that he has spoken to the superintendent of police of the district and asked him to take stern action against all those responsible. “It is a shocking incident and not only the police but  also society will have to start boycotting such elements,” he stated.

“Soon after we started our performance, around 700-800 youths present at the venue created a ruck-us, and started trying to pull off the girls’ clothes.  Instead of controlling the mob, members of the orga-nising committee also participated in this assault. They asked the girls to strip and dance to sexual numbers naked, and threatened to attack them with daggers if they didn’t comply,” Mr Rabha stated in his complain to police.

Mr Rabha also alleged that organisers had told the audience that they had invited a nude dancing group and collected a huge amount of money from the audience.

Mr Rabha also alleged that organisers and spectators not only assaulted the girls and tried to touch them inappropriately but also tried to strip them forcibly.

Eventually, the group somehow managed to escape from the barricaded venue, he stated.