Three men, aged between 20 and 25, from Assam’s Cachar district were arrested for allegedly abducting two minor girls from Mizoram and gang-raping them inside a moving car, police said on Thursday.
Police officers said Amjad Hussain Laskar (20) from Rajnagar; Saddam Hussain Laskar (23) from Bhaga Bazar; and Rinku Das (25) from Khaspur were arrested after the survivors, aged 15 and 16 years, reached the Dholai police station in the early hours of August 3 and reported the alleged assault.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) of Cachar district Rajat Pal said that the two minor girls had reached the Dholai police station around 2:30 am on Thursday. “They said that the accused tried to rape them and later stated that they were raped despite resisting. Since both of them claimed to be minors, we proceeded with the matter under the Juvenile Justice system,” he said.
The case was registered under sections 70(2) (gang rape of a female minor under 18 years of age) and 87 (abduction) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
“We are investigating the matter and the statements of the minor victims have been recorded. We have also produced the accused before the court following initial procedures,” Pal said, adding that both girls underwent mandatory medical examinations.
{{/usCountry}}“We are investigating the matter and the statements of the minor victims have been recorded. We have also produced the accused before the court following initial procedures,” Pal said, adding that both girls underwent mandatory medical examinations.
{{/usCountry}}“They are being taken care of under appropriate procedures since they are minors, and we have communicated with their family members,” he added.
Police are investigating how the minor girls came into contact with the accused, where they were picked up from, and other aspects of the case, officers said.
According to Assam Police officers, the girls are residents of Kolasib district in Mizoram. HT reached out to the Mizoram Police, but senior officers did not respond to multiple calls.