4 held for sexual assault on minor girl in Tripura

Four youths accused of gang rape of a school girl after kidnapping her a day ago in North Tripura district were arrested on August 6, Saturday, said police in the evening.

The victim’s family had lodged a police complaint on the basis of which North Tripura police took prompt action and arrested the four accused, among whom two are minors.

Issuing a statement, Assistant Inspector General (Law and Order) Jyotishman Das Chowdhury said, “The accused persons kidnapped her by a car and took her to a lonely place at Kalagangerpar and committed gang rape upon her. By meticulous investigation and with the help of scientific and technical aid, police traced and arrested all the accused persons for further legal action.”

A five-member special police team – comprising the North Tripura Additional Superintendent of Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police of North district, local SDPO, officer in charge of the local police station, and the investigating officer -- was formed to probe the incident. 

According to Das Chowdhury’s statement, the victim, who is being treated at a local hospital, was returning from her tutor's house last evening when the accused allegedly kidnapped her in a car and took her to a nearby forest area where they sexually violated her.

She later got in touch with a neighbour, who rushed her to a nearby hospital.

Soumya Debbarma, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Dharmanagar, had informed that a case was registered with Kadamtala police station and two arrests were made on August 5 and 2 on August 6.

In a similar incident reported from Tripura’s West district on Friday, a minor girl was raped by her neighbor in her house at Anandanagar under Srinagar police station. The accused was nabbed within a few hours of the registering of the complaint.

Barnali Goswami, chairperson of the Tripura Commission for Women, condemned both incidents and said the culprits should be brought to justice.