Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The prime suspect in the alleged gang rape of a minor girl in Assam is claimed to have drowned himself on Saturday morning after jumping into a pond while attempting to escape from the clutches of the police.
The incident took place in Dhing, Nagaon district, where the accused, Tafazzul Islam, drowned in the pond near the crime scene, the police said.
According to the Assam Police, Islam, who was arrested on Friday, was taken to the crime scene for a re-enactment around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. “The accused escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond. A search operation was launched immediately and his body was recovered after nearly two hours,” a police official said.
The police had taken the accused to the scene of the crime near a pond by the roadside in the Dhing area. Nagaon’s Superintendent of Police, Swapnanil Deka said it was dark when the accused – handcuffed and tied to a rope held by a constable – tried to flee.
“After interrogation, he (accused) was taken to the scene of crime. But he attempted to escape and fell into a pond which was full of water. The SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) was informed and it retrieved the body after a search,” he said.
“A constable holding the rope tied to the handcuffs of the accused sustained injuries. We are investigating the incident apart from looking for two other suspects in the case,” Mr Deka said.
The 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men riding a two-wheeler on Thursday evening while she was returning home from tuition on her bicycle. Police stated that the incident took place around 8 p.m. when the girl was returning home from tuition on her bicycle.
Three men arrived on a motorcycle, surrounded the girl, and allegedly raped her. Some locals found her lying unconscious near the pond with her bicycle beside her after about an hour and informed the police.
She was admitted to a local hospital, which referred her to the Nagaon Medical College and Hospital about 25 km away. The alleged gang-rape triggered outrage across Assam with protestors demanding stringent punishment for the perpetrators.
Police arrested Islam and detained another suspect while searching for the third individual. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also instructed the state DGP to visit Dhing and ensure immediate action.
“The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience. We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I’ve directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters,’ Sarma wrote in a post on X.
A molestation accused in another district was shot in the leg while trying to escape from police custody close to midnight on Friday.
A police official in north-central Assam’s Sonitpur district said two young girls on their regular evening walk in Tezpur town were paced by two men on Friday evening. The girls raised an alarm and the locals caught one of the two men, identified as Shah Rukh Hussain, and handed him over to the police.
The other man, identified as Miraz Ali, escaped but police caught him a few hours later. “He tried to snatch a pistol of one of our men. He was shot in the right leg to prevent him from fleeing. He was admitted to the Tezpur Medical College and Hospital,” a police officer said.
The police also resorted to a cane charge to disperse a mob that surrounded the Mahabhairab police station in Tezpur till 1 a.m. demanding strict action against the molestation accused.