Gang-rape accused shot in police encounter in Assam

A person arrested in connection with a case of gangrape in Assam’s Udalguri district has received multiple bullets in an encounter with police that happened on Monday night, officials said.

The person, identified as Hofizul Ali, was arrested on Monday morning after he, along with four of his companions, allegedly abducted and gangraped a minor girl in Majbat area on June 22.

According to officials familiar with the matter, Hofizul Ali attacked the officials during an investigation on Monday night and tried to flee when police opened fire on him.

He was taken to Tezpur Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition, and he is getting treatment in a ward highly protected by police. HT reached out to the superintendent of police (SP) of Udalguri district, Pushkin Jain but he refused to comment on this.

Jain on Monday told HT that they arrested five locals, aged between 22 and 30 on Monday morning after they allegedly abducted and raped a 17-year-old girl.

The girl’s family members lodged a complaint on Sunday, and we registered a case immediately. The survivor identified the accused. Based on that we launched an operation on Sunday evening and by Monday morning, all of them were arrested,” he said.

Along with Hofizul Ali, police arrested Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohidul Islam, Saddam Ali and Ehsan Ahmed have been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and some other sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“They are aged between 22 and 30, all of them are local residents. However, they were not previously known to the girl. We are interrogating them to get more information,” Jain said.

SP said that the girl went through the mandatory medical examinations and her statement will be recorded once she recovers. “She is undergoing some treatments and officials from the local administration are monitoring this. All the required supports are being provided,” he added.

A group of locals including the family members of the victim on Monday staged a protest against the alleged gangrape and the house of one of the accused was set ablaze. Police later controlled the situation and assured the protesters that strict action will be taken against the accused.

They demanded capital punishment for the five accused. “They tortured the girl brutally; she is going through a traumatic time. We talk about educating the girls and but people like them are raping girls when they go out for education. The police and judiciary should set an example by giving them the ultimate punishment,” locals said.

Jain said, “We understand the reason behind the anger but this doesn’t help, we have appealed to the locals not to break the law. We have arrested the accused within 12 hours and proper investigation is happening,” he added.

Two similar encounters were reported in Assam on Sunday. A 32-year-old man from Cachar district allegedly kidnapped a 19-year-old girl and he was later arrested by the police. According to the officials, he attacked the police during the investigation and the officials opened fire on him.

In the Boko area, a suspected mastermind of drug supply was injured in an encounter on the same day and police said that both of them are undergoing treatment in government hospitals in their respective districts.