Ampareen reacts to arrest of ‘sex workers’ at Khyndailad

SHILLONG:

Cabinet Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, on July 18, said that every woman standing on the road at odd hours is not a sex worker, and facts are to be verified first before taking anyone into custody.

Her statement comes days after the East Khasi Hills (EKH) police arrested 15 sex workers under the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act from Khyndailad, and the growing issue of the law-and-order situation in the city.

“We need to have several other factors to first verify before we can consider every woman standing on the road as a sex worker which is not correct,” she said.

She said that there should be certain indicators that suggest that certain individuals are involved in the act.

The minister said that if the public wants to venture at night, they have to be vigilant and responsible.

“The moment police get involved in these kinds of vigilante activities, then it becomes a problem. Because the question of Law and Order comes into the picture,” she said.

Asked about the odd-even system that was previously imposed on taxis plying in the city, Lyngdoh said that there is certain data that needs to be taken into consideration before putting into place an order.

She said there are 2 lakh private vehicles plying in Shillong city every day, and only about 1600 odd taxis are been registered in Shillong.

“So, the point here is we need to evaluate, shall we only look at these 1600 as deterrents of traffic flow or are there other factors also? So decisions have to be taken based on indicators that will justify an action,” she said.