Guwahati, Aug 24 (PTI) — The prime accused in the high-profile rape case of a 14-year-old girl in Assam’s Nagaon district died on Saturday morning after reportedly escaping from police custody. The incident has sparked significant local outrage, leading villagers to refuse to participate in his funeral and barring his burial in the village graveyard.
According to Nagaon Superintendent of Police Swapneel Deka, the accused, who had been detained on Friday, was taken handcuffed to the crime scene for a re-enactment of the events around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. During the process, the accused allegedly attacked a police officer, managed to flee, and subsequently jumped into a nearby pond. Despite an immediate search operation launched by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), his body was retrieved after nearly two hours.
The police officer who was assaulted in the incident has been hospitalized with injuries. As of now, the two other individuals implicated in the crime remain at large, with police conducting raids throughout the night in an effort to apprehend them.
The accused was initially arrested in connection with the rape of a minor girl from Dhing, a small locality within Nagaon district. On Thursday evening, the girl was reportedly attacked by three men on a motorcycle while she was cycling home from her tuition classes. The perpetrators allegedly left her injured and unconscious near a pond. She was later found and rescued by local residents, who promptly alerted the authorities.
In the aftermath of the accused’s death, the village of Borbheti, his family’s home, has taken a firm stance against him. A meeting was convened on Saturday morning where villagers made several significant decisions. According to village elder Md Shahjahan Ali Choudhury, the community has resolved not to allow the accused’s burial in the village graveyard, to abstain from participating in his funeral prayers, and to impose a social boycott on his family. Choudhury expressed the villagers’ sentiments, stating, “The village youth’s crime has shamed us, and we cannot allow his burial in the community graveyard.”
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The incident has also prompted local protests, with villagers organizing a march from the village mosque to express their condemnation of the crime.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was on a tour of the Barak Valley district, responded to the case with stern remarks. He emphasized the contrast between Assam’s and Bengal’s handling of such cases, asserting that Assam promptly addressed the horrific crime. Sarma noted that while criminal actions in Bengal might be shielded, Assam has taken swift action against the perpetrators. He added that he had instructed the state’s Director General of Police to oversee the investigation and had sent a minister to check on the victim’s condition, who is currently recovering in a Nagaon hospital.
The case has garnered significant attention, highlighting issues of justice and community response to heinous crimes. The ongoing efforts by the police to capture the remaining suspects and the community’s reaction to the accused’s death underscore the gravity of the situation and the demand for accountability in such sensitive matters.
