GUWAHATI: Various organisations, including student bodies, staged protests in Tripura, on Thursday, after a college girl allegedly gang-raped in a moving vehicle by three persons who later left her alone on a road in a critical condition after committing the crime.
Tripura Ganatantrik Nari Samity, a women’s wing of CPI(M), SFI, DYFI and other organisations, gheraoed the police headquarters to demand punishment for all the culprits.
The victim (20) was admitted to the GB Pant Hospital in Agartala. The police said she was traumatized but out of danger.
“I spoke to a doctor at the hospital. The doctor said the victim is out of danger but mentally disturbed,” the Superintendent of Police Dr Kiran Kumar K said.
The incident occurred on May 8 in the West Tripura district.
A case under IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 376D (gang-rape) and 34 (criminal act by several persons with a common intention) was registered.
Prime accused, Gautam Sharma, the victim’s boyfriend, and another accused Sudip Chetri was arrested. The third accused, Prosenjit Purkayastha, is evading arrest, the police said.
A video of the victim has gone viral on social media with her face blurred to protect her identity. She was seen as devastated and could barely speak. She said she had prayed to the accused to spare her but they did not listen to her.
The SP said that Gautam had taken the victim in a car and roamed about from 4 pm-11 pm on that day. The victim’s mother, however, claimed Gautam had offered a lift to her daughter when she was returning home from college.
Quoting the mother, Kumar said that initially only Gautam was with the victim in the car and the two others joined them later.
“After interrogating him (Gautam), we learnt that the four roamed about and eventually, the car was parked at a school ground. He (Gautam) told us all three of them committed rape on her in the car there,” the SP said.
The mother also alleged that her daughter was forcibly made to drink beer, Kumar said.
The victim and Gautam had an affair for the past five months, he added.
Sub Divisional Police Officer Ashish Dasgupta said an examination of mobile call records revealed Gautam and the victim frequently conversed with each other.