3 days into marriage, husband rapes wife with 2 other friends in Assam

Guwahati: In one of the most horrifying incidents, a newly-wed woman was alleged to have been raped by her husband and two of his friends within three days of her wedding after her family failed to meet the dowry demands.

The incident took place in Southern Assam’s Karimganj district where police have registered a case against the husband and arrested him.

Though, they are hunting for two co-accused and friends of the husband, police said that the incident came to light when the newly-married woman was admitted to a local hospital in a critical condition.

The woman, who filed the FIR, said, her husband had demanded gold jewellery as dowry which her family members could not fulfill so her husband and his two friends raped her on April 17.

The shocking incident took place only three days after her marriage.

The police said that an FIR has been lodged with the police on April 22.

“After the complaint, we have arrested the husband and formed a police team to nab the two absconding accused,” said the senior police officer of the district.

Meanwhile, the state has suddenly recorded a spurt in cases of sexual assault against minors. At least 20 cases have been registered across the state in the past two months.

In the latest incident, a seven-year-old was allegedly raped by her neighbour in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Finding the girl alone at home while her parents, both daily labourers, were away, the 55-year-old accused lured her to his house and raped her, said police sources. The accused has now been sent to jail for 14 days.

Four days ago, an eight-year-old girl from the same area was allegedly molested. The 22-year-old accused has been arrested.

In March, an 11-year-old was raped and burnt alive in Nagaon district of central Assam, an incident that led to street protests across the state.

The rise in the number of assaults against minors has also come as surprise to child rights activists.

“This is absolutely shocking. In the last two months, we have documented at least 20 cases of sexual assault on children. There’s a rise, the reasons are varied but the huge economic and social disparity in Assam is a major factor,” said Miguel Das Queah, a child rights activist from Guwahati.

Queah and his team run the state’s only centre that tracks cases registered under the Prevention of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“Last year, the commission intervened in 18 cases in the whole year but this year, in just four months, we have intervened in 18 cases. The situation is of real concern,” said Sunita Changkakati, Chairperson, Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.