Minor girl gangraped in Assam, massive protests held on streets

Guwahati, August 23

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by three persons in Assam’s Nagaon district, triggering massive protests by people on the streets.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma promised that stern action would be taken against the perpetrators. 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 8 pm on Thursday, police said.

Three persons came on a motorcycle and surrounded the girl, who was then allegedly raped by them and left in an injured and unconscious state on the roadside near a pond. The Class X student was later rescued by locals, who informed the police. She was initially taken to a health centre in Dhing and later shifted to a hospital in Nagaon for treatment and medical examination.

“The criminals who dared to commit such a heinous crime against a minor Hindu girl of Dhing will not be spared by the law. I have directed the DGP and Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika to rush to Dhing and take the toughest action,” Sarma said.

Sarma alleged that after Lok Sabha elections, “a section of members of a particular community have become very active and have been encouraged to commit such crimes. We will, however, come down heavily on the perpetrators and nobody will be spared.” In the last two months, 22 such crimes against women have taken place and this is the 23rd such incident in the state, he added.

“In Lower and central Assam and Barak Valley districts, where indigenous people have become a numeric minority, they are living in constant fear. People outside these regions cannot gauge this harsh reality,” he said.