At least 25 people, including three journalists, were injured in a violent clash that erupted in Assam's Silchar town following the recovery of a missing teenager's mutilated body, police said on Wednesday.
Guwahati, July 19 (IANS): At least 25 people, including three journalists, were injured in a violent clash that erupted in Assam's Silchar town following the recovery of a missing teenager's mutilated body, police said on Wednesday. The 25 injured also included five police officers and a member of the Central Reserve Police Force.
The 19-year-old victim was reported missing on July 15 from the town's Rangirkhari area. Her mutilated body was discovered by locals on Tuesday at a construction site in Dwarbond, some 30 km away from Silchar. Locals informed the police after which the body was taken for post-mortem. Later in the night, over a thousand enraged locals blocked the road, demanding the handover of the victim's mortal remains.
“After the post-mortem at Silchar Medical College and Hospitals (SMCH), when we were transporting the body to the crematorium under tight security, some protesters stopped the car in the Rangirkhari,” Cachar SP Numal Mahatta told IANS on Wednesday. He claimed that despite their assurances of conducting a thorough inquiry into the matter, the enraged mob unexpectedly attacked them.
"Hundreds of locals began throwing stones at us and damaging our cars. In that episode, five police officers, one member of the CRPF, and three journalists suffered serious injuries, and at one point, we had to open fire to maintain law and order,” the officer said.
The victim's family had claimed that the teenager suffered a possible sexual assault, as well as an acid attack. They also alleged that the police delayed the search for her and kept them waiting.
“If they had responded sooner, she might have been saved,” the victim's father, Nriprendra Roy told reporters. Mahatta claimed that while it hasn't been proven whether she was sexually assaulted, the evidence at this point strongly shows that she was murdered a few days ago. "Things will become clear once we receive the post-mortem report. An investigation is ongoing, and we're trying to identify the criminals," he continued.
The mother of the deceased, Uma Roy, claimed that her daughter, who used to work at a shop in the town, had called her around 9.30 p.m. on July 15 to say that she was on her way home. "She didn't answer, and when I tried to contact her again, her phone was off. We started looking for her and kept calling. We filed a complaint the following day, but my daughter was untraceable," she claimed.
Several right-wing organisations have protested against the crime and demanded capital punishment for the suspect.