GUWAHATI: A young woman was allegedly gang-raped by nine persons in Guwahati and the police detained eight persons in connection with the incident.
They were identified as Kuldeep Nath, Pinku Das, Mrinal Rabha, Gagan Das, Bijoy Rabha, Saurav Boro, Dipankar Mukhiya and Rabin Das. They are all aged 18 to 23 years. Another was absconding.
The police learnt about the incident on Thursday midnight after a video of it went viral on social media. It occurred on the premises of a Durga temple in the Nizarapar area of Boragaon on the city outskirts.
“We learnt that a video, showing a woman being gang-raped, was circulating on WhatsApp among the residents of Boragaon. Soon, we received it. There were eight to nine people and a woman with no clothes on her body. Sexual assault was being perpetrated on her violently,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Padmanabh Baruah told the media.
He said a police team was immediately sent to the locality and two persons could be identified from the video.
“During subsequent raids, we apprehended seven people from three different localities of the city. We are searching for two others,” he said.
In the evening, the office of the police commissioner shared a list with the media comprising the names of eight persons who were “detained”. During the preliminary investigation, the police learnt that the incident occurred on November 17.
“The persons had gone to see the Raas festival. It was then that some of them went to the Durga temple, perched on a hilltop, to drink liquor etc. One had taken along the woman. The act of sexual assault was filmed by one of them,” the DCP said.
Stating that the police are trying to establish the identity of the victim, he said a case would be registered based on her statement or the police would take up a case suo moto.
“We will slap the gang-rape and IT Act sections. We learnt the woman came consensually. Our investigation is on,” the DCP added.