GUWAHATI: A pregnant Muslim woman and her two sisters were allegedly stripped and tortured inside a police outpost in Assam’s Darrang district.
As a result of the alleged attack, the expecting mother had to be admitted to a hospital where her pregnancy was terminated.
The incident has ruffled many a feather with the Assam State Commission for Women lodging a case suo moto and the state’s Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia ordering a probe by Darrang Superintendent of Police, Amrit Bhuyan.
The incident took place on September 8 but it came to light on Tuesday after the victims had approached the media as the authorities did not register a case despite a complaint lodged by the victims.
The three sisters – Minuwara Begum, Sanuwara and Rumela – were picked up from Guwahati by the personnel of Burha police outpost in connection with a kidnapping case.
In a complaint filed with the Darrang SP on September 10, Minuwara alleged that she and her two sisters were picked up from their homes by a police team, led by the officer-in-charge of Burha police outpost, Mahendra Sarma, and tortured at the outpost whole night. A lady constable was allegedly among the assailants.
“We were brutally beaten up with sticks. My pregnant sister had pleaded to spare her as she was carrying a baby in her womb but Mahendra Sarma said we were acting. She lost the baby due to the assault,” the sister said.
The Darrang SP told this newspaper: “A Hindu girl was kidnapped by a Muslim youth. They (three sisters) were picked up in connection with the case. The elder sister had kidnapped the girl and kept her at their house”.
He said he would take necessary actions following the receipt of the medical report.
Assam State Commission for Women chairperson, Chikimiki Talukdar, described the alleged attack as a “heinous crime”.
“This is a heinous crime which cannot be tolerated in a civilized society. We will send a notice to the Darrang SP,” she said.