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Garo hills minors rape case: Meghalaya police arrest 8 including prime accused
Four minors, two boys and two girls, who had gone to attend the annual village carnival, were assaulted, and the minor girls were raped in two separate incidents on the same day allegedly by the same group of men
Shillong: The Meghalaya police in the past week have arrested eight people, including the prime accused, who was arrested on Saturday, in connection with the alleged brutal assault and gangrape of a minor village girl in the South West Garo Hills (SWGH) district on April 16, 2024.
Speaking to HT over the phone from Ampati, SGWH district police chief (headquarters) Vikas Kumar Yadav said, the prime accused was arrested on Saturday evening in a joint operation with Assam police from Mankachar.
The accused will be produced before a POCSO court on Sunday, the SP said.
A first information report (FIR) was lodged by the Koch Students’ Union on April 18 at 10:30pm against a group of men, which was immediately forwarded to the Women Police Station.
With Lok Sabha polls taking place the next day in the region, the police swung into action and within 24 hours arrested two men, then on April 24 two more were apprehended, followed by April 26, when two more were arrested in the joint mission by the Meghalaya and Assam police.
The SP said that eight, including the prime accused, have been arrested so far. They are all aged between 23 and 27 years and a large-scale manhunt to apprehend the rest is relentlessly underway. According to the initial complaint, 12-15 men were involved in the attack.
“I cannot divulge any names or any information that might hinder our committed investigation efforts, except to say he is the main instigator and perpetrator, which we have conclusive evidence to claim that, and we are confident that shortly all be in custody. Our joint operation with Assam police and close coordination with them made our task relatively manageable in good time,” the SP said, adding, “But our task is far from over, we will rest only when we have arrested all the culprits and filed a fool-proof and conclusive charge sheet.”
Four minors, two boys and two girls, who had gone to attend the annual village carnival, were assaulted, and the minor girls were raped in two separate incidents on the same day allegedly by the same group of men. The incident took place on April 16 about 300 meters from the fairground.
In the first incident, a group of men accosted the minors and tried to grope and sexually assault the girl. As they tried to fight back, the accused attacked them with machetes and other weapons, rendering them unconscious for a long time.
Shortly after, other minors, who were also attending the carnival, were attacked and assaulted allegedly by the group of the same men. Around 10 accused, accosted the minors and after roughing them up a bit, tied the minor boy to a tree and raped the minor girl.
The incident, according to the police, came to light after the second rape survivor shared the incident, following which a case was filed.
Based on the complaint, an 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.
Meanwhile, Priyank Kanoongo, chairman of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), arrived at Ampati on Saturday afternoon to conduct a fact-finding mission.
Kanoongo was accompanied by Meghalaya secretary for social welfare Israel Ingty, member secretary of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Mary Ann Kharbhih, and her secretarial staff.
“The honourable chairman is camping in Ampati tonight, and tomorrow from 8am onwards, we will be holding detailed discussions with the district administration and other agencies, before we compile a thorough report on the case. We will also meet family members of the victims if they desire to meet us,” Ingty told HT over the phone from Ampati.
He added that the delegation will also be inquiring into the medical status of all four minors especially the two girls, for consideration of ex-gratia disbursement, even as he affirmed that the state government through the social welfare department will extend all possible and reasonable assistance to the victims and their traumatised family.
