Dibrugarh, Aug. 31: People today gheraoed Dibrugarh Sadar police station and blocked roads demanding exemplary punishment to the culprits who had yesterday dragged a girl into a vehicle, robbed her of jewellery and thrown her out 6km away.
A police officer said the girl, a student of Dibrugarh University, had alighted at Kumaranicha near the university from a night bus she had boarded at Nagaon in central Assam, and was on her way to her private hostel when a six-member gang of cattle smugglers, waiting at the spot, tried to snatch her bag.
"When the girl resisted, one of the gang members forced her inside a vehicle. They snatched her gold earrings and other valuables and threw her out at Chowkidinghee chariali, around 6km from the place she was picked up at. A jogger headed for Chowkidinghee field found her and took her to Milan Nagar police outpost,'' the official said.
The student filed an FIR based on which a case was registered under Sections 364-A (kidnapping for ransom) and 395 (dacoity) under the IPC. On the basis of the FIR, the police yesterday arrested Jen Ali from Chalkhowa who later revealed the name of Imran Ali as the mastermind. The police today arrested Imran. He had been arrested earlier as well in connection with a cow smuggling case in Tinsukia district.
Dibrugarh additional superintendent of police (headquarters) Sourav Jyoti Saikia told The Telegraph that the two accused had confessed to the crime. "The six-member gang had gone to smuggle cows (at villages near Kumaranicha) but without any success. They were waiting at Kumaranicha when they saw the girl and tried to snatch her bag. When she resisted, one of them forced her inside the Tata Sumo and looted her belongings. After reaching Chowkidinghee, they pushed her out of the car.''
Saikia said investigations were on and they were looking for the other four accused.
The police have seized the Tata Sumo Victa CX, which has two registration numbers - AS-23 L-5760 and AS-23 H-6454.
Activists of Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran Manch, who were among the protesters at Thana chariali here, have given the police a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest the other four accused. "Cattle smuggling is on the rise in Assam. We demand that the police should take action against cattle smugglers," said Abhijit Sanyal, a member of the Manch. The Post-Graduate Students' Union of Dibrugarh University condemned the incident and demanded punishment to the culprits. They submitted a memorandum to the Dibrugarh deputy commissioner, seeking security for students of the university.
The incident highlights the lack of security for the university's girl students, many of whom stay in private hostels.
