| INDIA LEGAL |July 22, 2019 45In a press release issued after the
LBA removed Thinles, LSWSD elaborat-
ed: “When a minor girl belonging to a
financially weak section approached us
seeking help for her mother’s treatment,
we were shocked when she told us that
Tsewang Thinles, whom she approached
earlier for help, took advantage of her
circumstances and sexually assaulted
her many times on the pretext of help-
ing her mother. She was scared and
deeply hurt but also very courageous to
have spoken about this unfortunate inci-
dent. We, as a student union, consider
this our moral duty to help and support
her and to assure her that we are with
her at every step.”
Dispelling an impression that he too
had chosen to keep silent, young Ladakh
MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the
BJP told India Legal: “On learning of
the incident, I immediately took up the
matter with the deputy commissioner,
Avny Lavasa, and the senior sup erin ten -
dent of police, Sargun Shukla, and asked
them to take quick action and punish
Thinles if he was found guilty. I took
care to ensure there was no politicisa-
tion of the issue as it is too serious a ma -
t ter.” He said he asked the LBA to take
appropriate action consistent with its
constant concern for morality in society.
.
T
he police registered an FIR
(number 5/9) under Sections 354
(punishment for assault or use of
criminal force on woman with intent to
outrage her mod esty with imprisonment
for a term which shall not be less than
one year but which may extend to five
years and shall also be liable to fine),
354-A (punishment for a man com -
mitting any of the following acts: physi-
cal contact and advances involving un -
welcome and explicit sexual overtu r es;
demand or request for sexual fav ours;
and forcibly showing pornography with
rigorous imprisonment which may ext -
end to three years and with fine; and
punishment with imprisonment which
may extend to one year and with fine for
a person making sexually coloured
remarks) of the Ran bir Penal Code (the
main criminal law governing J&K) and
Sections 9L (aggravated sexual assault,
whoever commits sexual assault on the
child more than once or repeatedly) and
10 (punishment for whoever commits
agg ravated sexual assault with impris-
onment for a term which shall not be
less than five years but which may ext -
end to seven years, and shall also be lia -
ble to fine) of the J&K Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences Act.
At present, the whereabouts of the
acc used are unknown. The discomfiture
he has caused to the LBA is acute. So
far, the premier Buddhist outfit has cal l -
ed the shots on all major social, religious
and political issues. Ever since J&K’s
acc ession to India in October 1947, the
LBA has been in the forefront of the agi-
tation for making Ladakh a Union Terr i -
tory by separating it from the unique
and controversial state. Two of its most
successful presidents in rec ent years
have been Thupstan Che wang, who
twice represented Ladakh in the Lok
Sabha, and Tsering Samphel, a former
Congress legislator. Both are disappoint-
ed with the latest turn of events. Sam -
phel, when contacted in Leh, said that a
question of credibility had indeed aris-
en. Politicians of all hues have ralliedbehind the students and expressed soli-
darity with the victim.
The LBA also stands by the victim
but has invited criticism for having
skip ped the students’ rally. Kunzang
said: “We were not invited. Still we
decided to go ahead and participate to
show our solidarity with the cause. At
the last min ute, we learnt that asper-
sions were being cast on us for having
acted in an unconstitutional manner
despite our hav ing taken prompt action.
This compelled us to change our mind.”
He add ed: “The credibility of the LBA
has been dented. My priority will be to
restore it.”
Kunzang has a tough task on hand.
He has secured the nod of the LBA’s
general council at its July 10 meeting to
ratify the CWC’s decisions, including
about his elevation. This was not before
a show of resistance by students, who
along with some Buddhist monks
barged in, demanding dissolution of the
entire executive. Protesters, being non-
members of the council, could not make
much difference. However, they gave
eno ugh indication that they would con-
tinue to pose a challen ge outside.
More skeletons, meanwhile, have
started ratt ling in abscon ding Thinles’
cupboard after his removal as the LBA
chief. Ano ther girl has emailed Deputy
Com m i ssion er Avny Lav asa, alleging
sexual harassment by Thin les on May 17
and 21: first time he “squeezed me com -
plet e ly into his arms and kissed me hard
on my cheek” and on the next occasi on
he “kept touching my hands and squee -
zed my cheeks while he was driving”.
When contacted, Lavasa con firmed the
receipt of the email and said it had been
for wa r ded to the po l ice.
“The Me Too move ment has finally
cro ssed the Hi m alaya and rea ched Leh,”
said Tse ring Dorjay, a senior BJP leader
and member of the Leg islative Cou n cil
(MLC) who is a signatory to the demand
for sacking the entire LBA executive.“On learning about the incident, I asked
for quick action against Thinles if he was
found guilty. I took care to ensure that
there was no politicisation of the issue...”
—Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal
of the BJPTwitter: @indialegalmedia
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