Dhing gang-rape accused drowns while escaping police custody

Guwahati: One of the prime accused in the Dhing minor gang-rape incident, Tafazzul Islam, died Saturday morning as he tried to escape police custody by jumping into a pond. Tafazzul was arrested by Nagaon police on Friday soon after the incident took place on 22 August 2024. He was taken to the place where the horrible incident took place for recreating the crime scene. According to the police personnel on duty, Tafazzul attacked them and tried to escape. His dead body was recovered after two hours of search by State Disaster Response Force personnel from the pond.

A victim girl was returning home from tutorial classes in the evening hours on the fateful days. At least three local youths riding a two-wheeler chased her and finally overpowered the class x girl. Locals found her in an unconscious condition on a roadside and sent her to a nearby health centre. Later she was shifted to Nagaon town for better treatment. Meanwhile, hundreds of Assamese women and students hit the street and condemned the police forces for their failure to protect the women. Angry protesters sat on the road and accused the rapists as being suspected Muslim migrants. They also demanded justice for the victim girl and even raised slogans for an encounter for the monsters.

Following a call by the Dhing unit of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), all commercial establishments and educational institutions were closed in the locality. AASU president Utpal Sarma demanded stringent actions against the culprits. He expressed serious concern that the criminals start daring the law enforcement agencies and hence the authority must take serious note over the alarming rise of rape-murder incidents in the State. Criticizing the State home department for its failure to protect the women in their own places, the AASU chief insisted that the indigenous girls must be safeguarded with any cost. The protest in Dhing continues for the second day too, demanding the arrest of two other criminals.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also in charge of the State home portfolio, made a stern comment through his social media handling over the Dhing incident. Expressing serious concern over it, Sarma directed the State police chief GP Singh to rush to the location and ensure swift actions against the monsters. He asserted, “The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience. We will not spare anyone & bring the perpetrators to justice…”