Sikkim rape incident raises safety concern among women in Kolkata

Suman Chakraborti, TOI, May 17, 2016, KOLKATA: The alleged rape incident in North Sikkim in which a Kolkata girl has become a victim has sent ripples among women citizens in Kolkata. One of the three young girls who had gone for a trip to Gangtok from Kolkata was allegedly raped by a taxi driver which the trio had taken for sightseeing in North Sikkim. The accused driver, Prem Raj Rai (24) was arrested.

Residents of Kolkata who have visited Sikkim said that they do not feel any place to be safe anymore. "I had gone to Gangtok three years ago and it was quite a safe place. But now after hearing such news, no place seems to be safe anymore. It is better to go in a group or through a travel agent," said Parbati Guha Niyogi, a private company executive.

The 'Safe Haven' image that the hills earlier had and the gentleman image that the people of the hills used to have will now get turnished after this incident. Whether in a group or alone, no place in the country is safe for women anymore," said Sanjukta Dhar, an IT employee. "I do not feel any place to be safe anymore. Whether it is Gangtok or any other place, it has become unsafe for women everywhere," said Anindita Chaudhuri, a school teacher.

"To me, Sikkim was the second best hill station after Darjeeling and hill people are most friendly. But this incident makes me believe otherwise. I would still believe Sikkim is a safe state keeping this incident aside. I think instead of painting it further black we should be careful against a few bad elements and be careful while traveling alone in unknown places." said Aditi De, a resident of Salt Lake who now lives in Delhi.

Travel and tour operators in Kolkata however said that Sikkim is one of the safest states in the country to visit and that this may have been an isolated incident. "Sikkim is a very hassle free, peaceful place to visit. We never heard any kind of law and order disturbance in Sikkim. This is a rare isolated case," said Asok Sinha, Kolkata office in-charge of Geetanjali Tours and Travels. "Though at present we are not conducting any Sikkim tour for the last few years, Sikkim is normally safe, compared to other states of the country, this could be an isolated incident," said an official of Kundu Special.