Days after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped by three individuals in Assam's Nagaon district, officials said on Saturday (August 24) that the prime accused, who had been arrested hours earlier in connection with the case, died due to drowning. According to officials, the accused attempted to escape police custody by jumping into a pond and subsequently drowned in Assam's Nagaon district.
The police stated that the incident occurred on Saturday as the accused was being taken to the location where the crime was allegedly committed to re-create the crime scene around 3:30 am.
"But the accused escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond. A search operation was immediately launched, and his body was recovered nearly two hours later," the police added.
Meanwhile, protests have intensified in Assam, with people from various segments of society taking to the streets to demand the arrest of the perpetrators in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old girl from the Dhing area. The girl was attacked while she was returning home on her bicycle from tuition on Thursday.
According to available information, the three assailants, allegedly on a motorcycle, surrounded her, raped her, and then abandoned her injured and unconscious by a roadside pond. She was later rescued by locals who informed the police. While, the police had earlier said that they arrested one person and detained another while the search was on to nab the third, the incident has triggered massive protests in the area, with shopkeepers closing their businesses and social and political groups demanding harsh penalties for the offenders and increased security for women and girls.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also took cognizance of the incident and demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he said, "After the recent Lok Sabha elections, 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."
