Kokrajhar, Oct. 20: A group of CRPF personnel deployed to protect the riot affected at Rowta in Udalguri allegedly raped two women in Bhalukmari village last evening.

The group, comprising seven to eight jawans, waylaid a woman who had gone to fetch her goat from the field and one of them raped her around 4pm, sources at Rowta police outpost said.

Around the same time, two members of the same patrol party allegedly forced a man out of the house at gunpoint while one of them raped his wife.

The first victim, an Assamese Hindu, told this correspondent, “I was helpless as there was no one nearby to come to my help.”

The husband of the other victim, a Bodo, confirmed that two CRPF jawans entered their house and one of them raped his wife.

Over 50 people have died and nearly a lakh are languishing in camps after ethnic clashes singed large parts of Udalguri and Darrang districts early this month.

Though Bhalukmari reported incidents of arson, most of the villagers stayed back and did not move to relief camps. Bristling against and traumatised by the ethnic riots, villagers exploded in protest against the rape this morning.

A group surrounded the Rowta police outpost and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

Later, they blocked National Highway 52 forcing senior officials of the district administration, police and other security personnel, including the CRPF, to rush to the village and pacify the protesters.

The Absu, AASU and All Bodo Women’s Welfare Federation (ABWWF), have set the administration a 24-hour deadline to arrest the culprits.

They are likely to take up the matter with a four-member team from National Human Right Commission, which will visit the violence-hit districts tomorrow.

The police said the CRPF’s 9th battalion was deployed in the area during the riots to maintain peace.

Udalguri superintendent of police, A.K. Tiwari, said the two women had been sent for medical examination at Darrang Civil Hospital and the CRPF party concerned has been detained. “The medical report will be available tomorrow,” he said.

“An identification parade will be held tomorrow to pinpoint the guilty jawans.”

The CRPF has also ordered an inquiry into the incident, to be conducted by deputy inspector-general, G.S.L. Saxena. Saxena, who is based at Bongaigaon, rushed to Bhalukmari today.

Two cases have been registered at the Udalguri police station in this connection.

While one case (number 171/08) was registered under Sections 341/376/34 of the IPC, the other case, (172/08), was registered under Sections 448/ 351/342/376/506 of the IPC, relating to rape and wrongful confinement.

Rowta outpost in-charge Manik Das said: “We are investigating the incident and trying to reconstruct the events leading to the alleged rape which can be completed only after we receive all inputs. We will not give a clean chit to the personnel till the investigations are completed and have detained them.”