5 arrested for gangrape of 15-yr-old girl inside moving car in Assam: Police

FIve men were arrested for allegedly gangrape of a 15-year-old young lady from Assam’s Biswanath territorial dominion multiple times in a moving vehicle o'er several months before she was reclaimed by the constabulary last week, officials said on Wednesday.Additional superintendent of police (ASP), Dipti Mali told HT that the matter came to light on May 26 after a group of locals intercepted a suspicious vehicle and rescued the victim from an area under the jurisdiction of the Biswanath Chariali police station.“Locals reported that the girl and the occupants of the car were found in a compromising state. The girl later revealed that she was subjected to forceful sexual intercourse by multiple men inside that moving vehicle,” Mali said.The survivor was given immediate shelter, however the prime accused managed to flee and was arrested later on the same day, while four more were arrested between May 28 and 30, police said.“Following the first arrest, our manhunt continued. Though she was in deep distress and unable to name everyone, she was able to identify their houses because she had been taken there in the past. Based on this information, we arrested four more between May 28 and 30,” an official said.Following her rescue, police registered a case under sections 140(3) (abduction) and 70(2) (gang-rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.The survivor said that the ordeal began months ago when she was offered food by two men who asked her to get into their car, where she was subsequently raped by two to three men.A senior officer said that all five accused, aged between 19 and 23, are from the same locality as the survivor and allegedly exploited her family’s vulnerable financial condition.“She was lured with food and occasionally money. She gave in because her family’s financial situation was grim, and the exploitation continued for months,” the officer said, adding that the survivor was assaulted both inside the moving vehicle and at multiple houses.“She is in severe trauma and cannot recall specific dates, but she stated that she was repeatedly assaulted sometimes by two to three men, and at times by one or two. This was happening regularly. Even the day before she was rescued, she was raped inside the same moving vehicle,” police added.Mali said that the victim has since been shifted to a government shelter home, as the investigation revealed inadequate care and supervision at home.“Locals informed us that she would sometimes not return home for days, and the family remained indifferent. She is only 15, and we believe she will be safer and better cared for in a shelter home until she turns 18. However, the final decision rests with the court,” Mali said.All five accused were produced before a local court following the final arrest on May 30, and further investigation is underway. Police confirmed that the vehicle used in the crime has been recovered.“We have recovered solid forensic and circumstantial evidence from the vehicle. The houses pointed out by the victim are also being searched,” an investigating officer said, adding that statements from the victim, the accused, and available witnesses are being recorded to ensure a comprehensive charge-sheet is filed swiftly.The victim’s family members expressed deep trauma over the incident and demanded immediate, exemplary punishment for the accused.