IMPHAL: Manipur police on Saturday claimed that four accused of the gang-raped incident of a 14-year-old girl (who died later in hospital) are now in police custody.
On September 2 morning, police rescued a teenage girl who was found in an unconscious condition near a public pond located between Irong and Heibongmakhong villages under Mayang Imphal police station of Imphal West district. The girl died the next day at the ICU ward of RIMS hospital where she was admitted under a critical condition.
Police have been investigating the case as they suspect the girl was abandoned after being gang-raped.  Shocked and angry villagers of the victim’s village had also dismantled the house of the arrested person on that day. At the same time, family members of the victim girl and villagers are refusing to take back the dead body, demanding booking of the perpetrator(s) and befitting punishment.
The dead body is still lying at RIMS morgue as an unclaimed body without conducting necessary post-mortem.
The police, meanwhile, appealed on Saturday to the victim’s family and villagers to allow conduct of the post-mortem, asserting that delay in the conduct of post-mortem may lead to the loss of evidence. State police IGP (Zone-1) K Jayentakumar claimed that four youths are already in police custody.
The senior police officer then said that as the case was registered under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, the trial of the case will be held in a first tract court which police would need to submit the charge-sheet within two months.
Mention may be made that villagers of Mayang Imphal Bengoon where the girl hailed from have formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) and are pressing the state government to deliver justice in this regard.
Various civil society organisations, particularly women based bodies also while strongly condemning the heinous crime committed on the girl, pressed the government to deliver justice at the earliest.
NNN