4 held after 15-year-old girl found dead at Assam home; family claims rape: Cop

The victim’s sister alleged that the attackers used utensils and other objects to mutilate the body after the assault

Four people have been detained in connection with a rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl who was found dead at her home near National Highway-6 in Assam’s Hailakandi district on Saturday night, police said.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Hailakandi, Amitab Sinha, said Hailakandi police registered a case, however denied from sharing any details and detained four persons for interrogation. Sexual assault accusations are yet to be medically ascertained, police said.

“The family members are claiming it [rape], but we are waiting for the post-mortem report to draw any conclusions. We are investigating the matter thoroughly, and four persons are currently being questioned,” Sinha said.

The incident took place in the Aloichora area under Katlichera police station at 11pm on Saturday. The victim’s family said they were attending a feast at a nearby relative’s house at the time.

“It’s a neighbourhood where many members of the same extended family live together, and her family members were not far away when the incident happened,” SSP said.

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“She was there at the feast too, but after an argument with a cousin, she left for home at 10.30pm. We thought we’d bring some food for her later, but when we reached home around an hour later, it was a horrible scene,” her mother said.

She said her body was found lying on the floor, almost unrecognisable.

“It was horrible; how can a human treat another human, a little girl, in such a brutal manner,” she said, while demanding capital punishment for the accused.

The victim’s sister alleged that the attackers used utensils and other objects to mutilate the body after the assault.

“Her face was smashed, her head was bludgeoned with a heavy object, and some rod-like object was inserted into her private parts,” she said. “They are not humans, even calling them animals would be wrong. They don’t deserve to live. I appeal to the police to shoot them, or they should be hanged,” she said.

Police said they received the information around 12.30am, and recovered the body on Sunday morning following protests by family members and neighbours. Locals in Aloichora blocked NH-6 on Sunday morning in protest against the alleged rape and murder, initially refusing to hand over the body to the police.

“If a 15-16-year-old girl is not safe in her own house, what kind of society have we become? There must be exemplary punishment so that nobody dares repeat such heinous acts,” one of the protesters said.

Local MLA Milon Das later intervened, helping police transport the body to SMCH for the post-mortem. Das met with the family members and assured them that the culprits would be arrested immediately.

“The body has been sent to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) for a post-mortem, and we are investigating the matter further,” confirmed the additional superintendent of police (Crime), Hailakandi, Shamirdapar Baruah.