Two suspects in the brutal double gangrape of two minor girls in South West Garo Hills have been arrested and police are on the hunt for five other perpetrators, Director General of Police Lajja Ram Bishnoi informed today.
A gang had raped two girls in separate incidents at the same site and on the same evening of April 16 (often reported as April 17) in Gandhipara during a local mela. Two boys who had accompanied the girls were also assaulted by the gang.
However, the state’s top cop said that medical evidence has pointed to only one gangrape having taken place, though all four victims were severely physically assaulted.
Bishnoi promised that none of the guilty party will be spared. The area where the crimes were committed lies close to the Assam border and, based on testimony from the victims, it was believed that the perpetrators hailed from the neighbouring state.
The DGP said that credible leads led to the arrest of the two individuals, whose names are being withheld for now. However, it is known that they are relatively young, with the oldest being 25. The pair were arrested on Sunday and produced in court yesterday where they were remanded in police custody for five days.
“They are from Assam, in fact all of the criminals 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 which will be de-encrypted by our forensics team,” Bishnoi said, adding that the Meghalaya police are working closely with their counterparts in Assam on the case.
Various sections of the Indian Penal Code have been slapped against the suspects as well as the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act as the girls are minors.
The investigation is being headed by a female Sub-Inspector and supervised by the Superintendent of Police and Deputy Inspector General.
The original FIRs were filed only on April 18, two days after the crime by the Koch Students’ Union on behalf of the victims who are still undergoing tremendous trauma and pain. It was said that 12-15 males were involved.
“We are yet to ascertain on the number of people involved, it is too early to comment but we are confident that we shall shortly solve the case. We lost one crucial day in launching an investigation. 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.” Bishnoi said.
Meanwhile, the DGP appealed to the public not to be taken in by rumour mongering on social media.
ABVP demands justice for victims
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) state unit said today that it is “deeply saddened” by the double gangrape of two minor girls during a meal in Gandhipara, South West Garo Hills, on April 17.
ABVP state secretary Tengku M Marak said that the girls (and the two boys accompanying them) had been subjected to a “horrifying ordeal” by the rape gang.
All four are students, the ABVP, which is a right-wing student organisation, said.
“Despite nearly a week passing since the incident, there has been a troubling silence from the government. ABVP Meghalaya calls upon the authorities to take immediate and decisive action against the perpetrators, conducting a thorough investigation to ensure justice is served, Marak said.
