Meghalaya police officer booked for harassing woman lawyer

Shillong, Nov 13 (IANS) Meghalaya police have registered a case against its Sub-Inspector Habanjob Khonglah, who is accused of sexually harassing a lady lawyer, a police officer said on Tuesday.However, police are yet to arrest the accused.On Monday, the victim lodged a complaint against Khonglah with the Khliehriat women police station in East Jaintia Hills district accusing him of sexually abusing her.Khonglah, who was an officer-in-charge of Lad Rymbai Police outpost, had been accused of sending inappropriate messages and showed his genital to the lawyer via video calling.The victim alleged the police officer even touched her hand when she visited the police outpost for some legal matters."A case has been registered against him (Khonglah). He has been transferred from Lad Rymbai Out Post and Investigation is going on," Vivekanand Singh, the district police chief told IANS.Asked if Khonglah has been formally arrested in view of the serious accusations against him, Singh said, "Its Investigation Officer's discretion whether to arrest or not. If required, he will be arrested since the charge against him is punishable with three years' imprisonment and arrest is not mandatory in such cases."However, the police officer said that the accused is cooperating with the investigation.
--IANS rrk/pgh/