GUWAHATI: Two persons were arrested by the police in Assam for allegedly raping a Covid-recovered woman.
The incident occurred on Thursday at around 7:30 pm in Charaideo district when she was walking home from a hospital along with her daughter, who too had recovered from the disease.
The hospital released the duo after they had tested negative. The husband of the woman from tea garden community was also a Covid patient and admitted to the hospital. He was released earlier after he had tested negative.
The woman and her daughter wanted to spend the night on Thursday at the hospital complex but the request was allegedly not entertained by the hospital authorities.
They did not get a vehicle to go home, 25 km away, in the Covid-induced night curfew and decided to walk the distance. They covered around 21 km when the two accused had pounced upon them. However, the girl managed to flee under the cover of darkness. Later, she tipped off the villagers and they informed the police.
Charaideo Superintendent of Police Sudhakar Singh said the two persons arrested would be produced in a local court on Tuesday. “The victim has identified the two persons. We are interrogating them,” Singh told The New Indian Express.
The Congress condemned the incident of alleged rape. It slammed the hospital authorities for failing to provide an ambulance to ferry the woman and her daughter.
“The woman and her daughter were left to fend for themselves when lockdown was in place. Isn’t it the responsibility of the hospital and the local authorities to see to it that the woman and her daughter reached their home safely?” the party asked.
“A few days back, BJP MLA of Khumtai Mrinal Saikia had also tweeted that Golaghat Civil Hospital refused to take two Covid patients to the hospital and he had to arrange an ambulance himself. So, this is the actual ground situation of health infrastructure and Covid management in Assam,” the Congress further said.