SHILLONG: Two men in their mid-twenties were arrested on Sunday in connection with the gangrape of one girl and assault on three minors including a minor on April 16, at Chenga Benga village in South West Garo Hills (SWGH) district, Meghalaya director general of police LR Bishnoi said on Tuesday.
“They are from Assam. In fact all of the criminals (in this case) are from Assam, and we are relentlessly following all leads as we gather from various sources, including the two mobiles that we have seized from the possession of the arrested persons,” Bishnoi said on the phone.
The two suspects were produced before a court on Monday and remanded in police custody for five days, he said, adding that the police had decided against releasing the identity details of the suspects for now.
The two were part of a group of men that intercepted a girl and her male friend about 300 metres from the annual carnival on April 16. They thrashed the boy and took turns to rape the girl. Some time later, the group caught hold of another young couple passing that way and assaulted them too.
Bishnoi expressed confidence that all the culprits in the case would be arrested soon.
“Since all the perpetrators are from Assam, we are working in close coordination and cooperation with Assam police to expedite the investigation and wrap up the case as soon as possible. In fact, we are launching a major joint operation with our Assam counterparts tonight, and hopefully, we will achieve some success,” he said.
The state police chief added that a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Ampati women police station under sections 376 D (gangrape), 323 (causing grievous injury), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention to commit a crime) apart from provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The FIR was registered on a complaint by the Meghalaya Koch Students’ Union because the victims were still in great pain. The initial complaint said 12-15 males were involved in the attack.
Bishnoi said the investigators were yet to confirm the number of people involved in the case. “We lost one crucial day in launching an investigation (because of a delay in filing FIR). Had we been alerted soon after the incident, we would have been successful in nabbing more perpetrators, but we have gathered enough evidence and samples from the place of occurrence.” the DGP said.
Bishnoi also appealed to people not to believe rumours spread by some unscrupulous people about the tragic incident. “There are viral messages being circulated that 50 jihadis had come and four girls were raped. How can it be possible when there were only two minors and that too, medical examination has confirmed rape on only one victim,” the DGP said.
“If anyone has any information on the case, please do not take it to social media, but drop in the nearest police station instead, and there will be officers who will listen and take matters forward in the interest of the case.”
“The investigation is being headed by a women sub-inspector, and the SP and DIG, Western Range are supervising the investigation relentlessly,” Bishoi said, adding that he was in constant touch with the officers.
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