Protests have begun in Nagaon district of Assam demanding the arrest of suspects

Guwahati:

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped and thrown on the roadside in Nagaon district of Assam last night. The Class 10 student was rescued by local residents and handed over to the police. The girl is currently recovering in hospital and the medical examination report confirming the sexual abuse is awaited.

The incident came amid nationwide outrage over sexual violence following the gruesome rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in a Kolkata hospital on August 9. Civil society groups in Nagaon have begun protests, demanding that the police nab the three suspects the minor said were involved in the crime within 12 hours and have also called a strike.

The girl was found semi-conscious near a pond with her bicycle lying next to her, residents reported. The alleged attack allegedly occurred when the girl was returning from a tutoring class. She lay on the side of the road for about an hour before residents rescued her.

“The girl was lying on the side of the road. We asked her what had happened. She couldn’t speak properly, she could only tell us that three teenagers had raped her,” said a local resident.

In protest, shops, markets and educational institutions in the area will remain closed today. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to increase security during this period.

“This is a brutal incident in which a minor was raped by three people. We want the police to arrest her immediately. We are protesting against the police’s inaction and have called for a strike. This will continue until the perpetrators are behind bars,” said one demonstrator.