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Six arrested on charges of raping, murdering 21-year-old in Assam
The woman, a male friend and 2 others went to attend a Bihu function on Wednesday evening. The accused allegedly waylaid them from near a school when they were returning from the event.
Six people, all likely to be minors, were arrested early on Friday in Assam on charges of allegedly raping and murdering a 21-year-old woman in West Karbi Anglong district on Wednesday night.
The accused allegedly raped and killed the girl while she was returning from a cultural programme with a male friend. Her body was found hanging from a tree on Thursday.
“The accused were on the run. Six of them were arrested between 2:00 and 3:00am on Friday. We are awaiting a statement from the victim’s male friend to prove their involvement,” superintendent of police Inamul Haq told the Hindustan Times.
The woman, a male friend and 2 others went to attend a Bihu function on Wednesday evening. The accused allegedly waylaid them from near a school when they were returning from the event.
While the 2 others were chased away with threats, 4 of the accused took the woman’s male friend to her house and told her family that both were found in a compromising position in the school and that the woman fled the scene.
“All the six accused appear to be in their teens. They have confessed to being at the place where the incident happened but denied involvement in rape and murder. We are on the lookout for the seventh accused,” Bharat Chandra Kunwor, in-charge of Baithalangso police station, said.
The remaining 3 allegedly raped the woman and the act was reportedly repeated by the other 4 accused who returned to the scene later. The woman was allegedly hanged on a tree later to make it appear as if she committed suicide.
“The victim’s body bore several injury marks and it appears she was subjected to torture and rape. The body has been sent for a post-mortem and the report will confirm what exactly happened,” Kunwor said.
A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape, murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt and criminal conspiracy has been lodged. Efforts are on to verify the exact ages of the accused.
