Guwahati, 4 July: In a disturbing case of gang rape, as many as eight attackers stormed into the home of an elderly woman and sexually raped and mistreated both her and her daughter.
Although the incident occurred earlier, it wasn’t brought to light until Tuesday. According to reports, the daughter is differently-abled who cannot speak. The attackers allegedly continued after the horrible deed by smearing chilli powder on the mother’s and daughter’s private parts.
The incident reportedly occurred on May 17 in the Satgaon area of Guwahati. The police allegedly attempted to cover up the incident, so that it did not immediately come to light. It has come to light that the police intimidated the victims and the neighbours and ordered them not to discuss the incident with reporters.
Meanwhile, four of the accused have been arrested while four others are still at large with the police pursuing them.
Following the dissolution of her marriage, the daughter who is now 22 years old, had been living with her mother at her home in Taltala in Guwahati’s Satgaon. At that time, a 55-year-old guy named Arun Pradhan also known as Loote Pradhan made attempts to seduce the mother. However, the Pradhan family rejected this relationship which caused conflict between the two families.
Amit Pradhan, the son of Arun Pradhan and seven other people broke into the victims’ home at the height of the conflict and continued their horrific deed. By applying chilli powder to their privates, they increased the severity of their offences. After the act, the mother and the girl lost all of their senses.
The neighbours reported the event to the Satgaon Police Station after hearing about it. When the police arrived on the site, they found both victims in a lifeless condition and immediately sent them to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in a severe condition. The hospital staff used emergency medical care to save the two patients’ lives.
On the other hand, Satgaon Police filed an investigation and lodged a complaint with the case number 92/23 with charges under sections 456, 294, 354 and 354 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is important to note that the police initially declined to file rape-related charges in their case. Amit Pradhan, Bimal Chetry, Chhaya Pradhan and Sandhiya Sonar were the principal suspects and they were all arrested after preliminary investigations led to their whereabouts.
Arun Pradhan married the woman in an effort to free his son and the other suspect. He skillfully persuaded the mother to write a letter to the official in charge of the Satgaon Police Station asking him to drop all charges against the accused shortly after the couple were married.
The case involved gang rape, thus the police did not follow the text of the law. The issue didn’t surface until the GMCH medical report confirmed rape, at which point the police added charges under IPC Section 376 to the case.
Additionally, according to several of the neighbours the police frequently brought them to the police station without a good reason out of fear that the mother would contact the media.