Guwahati: The prime accused in the Dhing gang rape case, Tafazul Islam, died as he drowned while trying to escape from police custody and jumped into a deep pond. He was taken there for reconstruction of the crime scene around 4 am this morning by Assam police.
He was pronounced dead following a strenuous two-hour rescue mission earlier in the day. During an investigation, Islam made an effort to evade police custody this morning at 4 a.m. by jumping into a nearby pond. When the escape attempt happened, the police had taken him to the crime scene for additional investigation.
Search efforts were promptly initiated by the police, who feared he may have drowned. The bodies of Islam was pulled out of the water after two hours. After a thorough investigation revealed that Islam was the third male involved in the horrific gang rape, he was taken into custody on August 23. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, had previously declared that the defendants in the case will face severe consequences. He restated that there were already sufficient laws in place to deal with such atrocities, and that they were enforced, policed, and supported.
The hunt is still on for the other two actors who committed the crime.
Swapnaneel Deka, Superintendent of Police of Nagaon district told ANI over the phone that on Friday police arrested Tafazul Islam in connection with the case. “When a police team took him last night to the spot for investigation where the incident took place, the prime accused tried to flee and jumped into a pond located nearby the site. Our police personnel engaged in a search operation and with the help of the SDRF team we recovered his body from the pond today morning,” he said.
It should be mentioned that, three Muslim men abducted and gangraped a nine-year-old Hindu girl in the Dhing area of the Nagaon district of Assam on August 21 evening. Thousands of people had come out to the street protesting and demanding justice for the victim. The young girl was raped in Dhing while she was walking home after tuition, according to report. The attackers left her stunned in the woods after committing the crime. Before locals could save the helpless victim, she laid there for around an hour without any clothes on.
Tafazzul Islam, the prime suspect, was arrested by Nagaon police on August 23. But he died by drowning while attempting to flee from police custody and jumped into a deep pond. The search for the other two accused is on. Assam police DGP was in Dhing after CM asked him to personally monitor the investigation of the heinous crime that jolted the state.
Assam Director General of Police, GP Singh on Friday visited the site and met the victim’s family members and also spoke with the senior police officials.
Speaking on the incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday, “When there is any atrocity against women, we need to take prompt action.” Addressing the media, Sarma said, “I would like to say just one thing. When there is any atrocity against women, we need to take prompt action. But the public should see that the government is taking strict action. When people feel that the government is showing laxity, they get angry. When such incidents take place, the government should take very aggressive action. The government in Bengal didn’t do it, so people got angry.”
He further stated that after the Lok Sabha elections this year, “we are seeing a specific community of people indulging in criminal activities.” “The perpetrators of the incident at Dhing, involving a Hindu minor, will be punished,” he added.
Thousands of people are still protesting in Dhing demanding immediate arrests of other two rapists and safety of the indigenous people.
