Assam minor’s gang-rape: Prime accused escapes police custody, dies after jumping into pond

One of the three accused involved in the gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl in Assam’s Dhing died after he allegedly jumped into a pond with cuffed hands early on Saturday when a police team had taken him for scene re-creation.

Tafazul Islam, the prime accused who was arrested on Friday, allegedly escaped the police custody and jumped into pond.

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by three persons in Assam’s Nagaon district on Thursday, triggering massive protests by people on the streets. The girl was was left injured and unconscious on the roadside near a pond, before being rescued by locals who informed police.

The girl was allegedly assaulted and raped by three persons while she was returning home from her tuition on her bicycle in Dhing area around 8pm on Thursday, police said.

Police said the accused was taken to the location where the crime was allegedly committed for a re-creation of the crime scene around 3.30am.

“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,” police added.

Arrests so far

Police arrested one person and detained another while search was on to nab the third. Director general of police GP Singh had reviewed the progress of the investigations on Friday.

Swapnaneel Deka, superintendent of police of Nagaon district told news agency ANI that when a police team took Tafazul Islam last night to the spot for investigation where the incident took place, the prime accused tried to flee and jumped into a pond located nearby the site. “Our police personnel engaged in a search operation and with the help of the SDRF team we recovered his body from the pond today morning,” he said.

Assam director general of police GP Singh on Friday visited the site and met the victim’s family members and also spoke with the senior police officials.

Speaking on the incident, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, “When there is any atrocity against women, we need to take prompt action.”

Addressing the media, Sarma said, “I would like to say just one thing. When there is any atrocity against women, we need to take prompt action. But the public should see that the government is taking strict action. When people feel that the government is showing laxity, they get angry. When such incidents take place, the government should take very aggressive action. The government in Bengal didn’t do it, so people got angry.”

He added that after the Lok Sabha elections this year, “we are seeing a specific community of people indulging in criminal activities”.

“The perpetrators of the incident at Dhing, involving a Hindu minor, will be punished,” he added.