The five have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. File | Image credit: Reuters

GUWAHATI

Police in Upper Subansiri district of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh have arrested five people who allegedly kidnapped a 13-year-old girl and gang-raped her for five days.

The incident in Daporijo, a small town, took place two weeks before the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 5 and came to light a few days ago.

The five accused – Bai Kaji, Tapong Baring, Raju Lomdak, Jepu Leya alias Jack Sorum and Nanesh Nayam – were arrested on July 28 and are in custody after the expiration of their pre-trial detention.

Police Commissioner Thutan Jamba said the girl’s brother had filed a first-in-command report (FIR) alleging that she was illegally confined and raped at a location in Gandhi Market in Daporijo for five days.

“We arrested the main accused on the day the case was registered. The other four were arrested after his interrogation. After a medical examination, the minor victim was handed over to her parents,” the police officer told journalists on Sunday (August 18, 2024).

The five persons have been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).

In Karimganj district of southern Assam, police have registered a case under several sections of the POCSO Act against the owner and principal of a private school for allegedly forcing a 12-year-old student to watch pornography in his office room. The school is located in a tea garden area on the Assam-Tripura border.

The district police said the accused, a name identified as Jahir Uddin, was absconding.

After initial hesitation, the girl told her mother that the defendant had not only forced her to look at “something ugly” but had also touched her inappropriately.

When the news of the incident spread, some angry locals tried to attack the accused, but he managed to escape. Later, they set fire to the tables and benches of the school.