Bongaigaon Police in Assam detained five people in connection with forcing a minor couple to engage in sexual acts, recording the incident and circulating the video, superintendent of police (SP) Mohan Lal Meena said on Monday.
Addressing reporters to issue an update regarding the case, the Bongaigaon SP said that the incident was reported on May 18 (Saturday) and the police received the obscene video circulated by the accused after which an investigation was launched.
He said, "An incident was reported on the 18th of this month and we received some video clips of a minor boy and a girl along with some adults who were capturing the video. After we received the visuals from the media, we initiated a probe."
"During our preliminary investigation, we found that the location was near Borjhora waterfall in Bongaigaon. In further operations, we detained five people – Biraj Rabha, Sunit Rabha, Sebo Sarkar, Dalim Barman and Jiren Sarkar – the day before yesterday," the Bongaigaon SP added.
While undergoing interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to having committed the crime, said Meena. "They revealed that the children had gone there on a trip. Finding them at a secluded spot, they forced them to strip and get into sexual acts which they captured on video. Then the video was circulated," he said.
Shedding further details, the Bongaigaon SP said, "Initially, we could not identify the victim boy and girl, however, last night we successfully identified them. We have recorded their statements. The entire sexual act was videographer."
"We registered a case numbered 182/2024 under Bongaigaon Police Station under sections 120(B), 342, 354, 354(B), 354(C), 387, sections 8 and 12 of POCSO Act, and 67, 66(E), and 67(A) of IT act," he added.
Asked whether the accused tried to extort money from the victims, the top cop said, "Yes, they blackmailed the victims and demanded Rs 5,000. They boy arranged the money from somewhere and paid Rs 4,500 which was distributed among them."
"We have examined the victim girl. She has denied gang rape allegations. She is better now. As she is a minor, we have not released her name," he said when questioned about wellbeing of the girl.
Moreover, he said that the Bongaigaon Police will set up a committee with local people at tourist spots with regular police patrolling to prevent further such incidents.
