Naga Mothers Association (NMA) has demanded immediate suspension of Reny Wilfred IAS and his removal as joint secretary finance, who despite facing serious sexual harassment cases, continues to remain in office.
In a joint statement, NMA president Ms.Vilanuo Angela Yhome and vice president Mrs.Malsawmthang Leyri, disclosed that at a joint meeting with Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW) at latter’s office on April 19, women victims narrated personal traumatized stories of sexual harassment by the perpetrator on women employees “both within and outside the IDAN office premises.”
NMA expressed its solidarity with the “brave young women” who had the courage to raise their voices of sexual harassment at the work place and therefore demanded “punitive action as per the law on this top government official of the state of Nagaland.”
NMA also said it was “shocked, dismayed and appalled to learn that he (Reny Wilfred) still occupies the position of joint secretary, finance”, after being removed from the Industrial Development Agency of Nagaland (IDAN) office.
It also questioned both the chief secretary and the state government on how an officer under investigation, was allowed to sit in another department and use the premises to conduct a press conference amidst serous allegations against him and also an ongoing trial for sexual assault at Noklak?.
NMA has demanded the immediate suspension of Reny Wilfred and his removal from the post of joint secretary finance, in order to allow impartial investigation by Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up.
Further, NMA also said it was shocked to learn that Reny Wilfred IAS who is on anticipatory bail, had also filed a Writ Petition against the Nagaland State Women Commission (NSCW) while being under probe by the Police SIT.
NMA said this harassment on the NSCW members, who are duty bound to protect any victims approaching it (NSCW) was “an insult to all of us Naga women by an outsider and non-Naga.”
In this regard, NMA has appealed to all Naga women organizations to “come forward in solidarity and protect out daughters and let justice be seen”. NMA said daughters have not been educated to be “sexually harassed, terrorized, humiliated , threatened at work place by a high-ranking predator officer, who is a shame to the whole IAS fraternity in the state and the country.”