AAP Assam workers dragged by Guwahati police into buses during protests

Guwahati: About 100 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Assam members were detained while protesting in Bordubi, in the Tinsukia district, for the arrest of Samudra Roy, the BJP booth president, for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl on March 20, 2023, and for forcing the victim’s mother, Damini Prajak (Name Alerted to Protect Identity of Minor), to commit suicide on April 14, 2023.

Before loading them onto buses, police officers dispersed the protest march with force.

According to reports, the police have also taken into custody the older brother and five other members of the family of the purported 13-year-old victim girl who purportedly participated in a protest today.

The protesters were then relocated to Chachal, an area on the outskirts of Guwahati, where they asked a police official to submit a memo to the director general of police in Assam asking for the filing of a FIR against the president of the BJP Booth for aiding the suicide of the victim’s mother and harassing the victim’s family.

AAP Assam stated in the memo that the 13-year-old girl in Tinsukia was savagely raped by someone in a powerful and prominent position, who, in exchange for his prominence as the BJP Booth president and a member of the Gaon panchayat, guaranteed that no arrest was made against his name up until this point.

“The victim’s elder brother went in to register a complaint against the 53 year old Samudra Rai on April 21, 2023, wherein after the Bordubi Police Station under Tinsukia district registered a case bearing number 434/2023 GR case no. 31/2023 but till date no arrest has been made and her perpetrator is free at large. He was threatening the family members of Damini Prajak (Name Alerted to Protect Identity of Minor). The situation become so gruesome that on April 14, the mother of the victim under humiliation faced through the society and under threats and intimidation by Samudra Rai committed suicide, against which the Bordubi police to date have not registered any case or taken action against Samudra Rai,” the memorandum reads.

In this regard, the conduct of the Bordubi police officials is further questioned in light of the fact that, as of this writing, Samudra Rai has not been apprehended or charged with violating any of the harsh provisions of the Nirbhaya Act (Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013) or the POCSO Act for claiming the lives of two members of the same family.

“The psychological effect of the incident has traumatized the family to such an extent that both the victim and her brother have lost their faith in the judicial system and are now forced into abject poverty after the death of both their parents. Moreover, till date, no action has been taken by district social welfare officer to safeguard the two or ensure that no further harm is done to the children,” AAP Assam added in the memorandum.

Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress President Mira Borthakur Goswami had already sent a memo to the State Women’s Commission in relation to the Tinsukia rape.

In April of this year, a seven-person Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) delegation also paid a visit to the victim in Bordubi.