- By Nidhi Giri
- Sat, 14 Dec 2024 12:07 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Assam: Eight people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the gangrape of a girl in Guwahati after a video of the incident went viral. The woman is yet to be identified, said the police on Saturday. As per the police, the girl was gangraped on the premises of a Durga temple during the Raas Mahotsav on November 17. Meant to celebrate the Hindu god Krishna, the Raas Mahotsav is one of the state festivals of Assam which usually is celebrated during late November or early December. The perpetrators, aged between 18 and 23, allegedly filmed the act and shared the footage on various social media platforms. The video surfaced nearly three weeks later.
“Eight of the nine accused — Robin Das, Kuldeep Nath (23), Bijoy Rabha (22), Pinku Das (18), Gagan Das (21), Saurav Boro (20), Mrinal Rabha (19) and Dipankar Mukhiya (21) — have been arrested, and our search operation is ongoing. We have not yet located the victim, but according to our sources, she was seen in a public place a week ago,” said Padmanabh Baruah, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Guwahati West, adding that efforts are underway to apprehendthe ninth person involved in the assault.
Dharmendra Kalita, officer-in-charge of Guwahati’s Gorchuk Police Station, received the video on WhatsApp from a source around 2.30 am on Friday.
DCP said that they initially arrested three of the accused from the Boragaon area of Guwahati, who, during the initial investigation, revealed the names of the others.
“Based on this information, our officials conducted raids in areas such as Noonmati and Jalukbari. By morning, seven of the accused were arrested, and two are still absconding. One more accused was arrested by evening,” he said.
During interrogation, the accused told the cops that on November 17 evening the girl had come to the temple with one of the accused for Raas Mahotsav. “The nine accused, all intoxicated, gangraped her and recorded it on camera,” DCP said, as quoted by an HT report.
He also appealed to the social media users not to forward the video to anyone if they receive it from any sources.
“Sharing this video is a criminal act and we’ll take action against every person found sharing it,” he added.
Locals from the Boragaon area said the temple and its surroundings have become a haven for alcohol and drug consumption. Some women claimed they had been targeted by such individuals in the past.
“Intoxicated youths often make objectionable comments towards women visiting the temple, regardless of their age—even elderly women face this. We have informed the police several times; if action had been taken earlier, this incident could have been prevented,” said one woman.