E-Paper
Assam boy threatens schoolgirl with acid attack, rapes her; father of accused arrested
The arrested person, a businessman and religious preacher, allegedly supported his son’s actions and also threatened the victim and her family members.
A 19-year-old youth has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly raping a minor schoolgirl in Assam’s Cachar district.
He allegedly threatened the victim with an acid attack and circulated objectionable photos and videos of her on social media, the police said on Sunday. While the prime accused is absconding, his father has been arrested, officials added.
The arrested person, a businessman and religious preacher, allegedly supported his son’s actions and also threatened the victim and her family members. “He was named as one of the accused in the FIR. He not only supported his son’s acts but threatened the victim as per her complaint. We have arrested him and will produce him before the court,” said Cachar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Partha Pratim Das.
The victim, a 16-year-old girl, lodged a complaint at Malugram police station in Silchar on December 15, alleging that the accused coerced her into sexual relations through repeated threats and later subjected her to digital harassment. Police said a case has been registered under sections 308(3) (extortion), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 77 (voyeurism), 79 (acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 64 (rape) of the BNS, along with relevant provisions of the POCSO Act, including sections 6 and 14(3).
A senior police officer said the prime accused is absconding and was last traced to Bengaluru. “Search operations are underway. Digital evidence is being analysed,” the officer said. The victim stated that she was 16 when the accused, then 18, proposed to her, which she initially refused. “He later tried to convince me and behaved well. At one point, I agreed to speak to him, but he soon began pressuring me for intimacy. When he asked me to go to a hotel, I refused, after which his behaviour changed,” she said.
She alleged that the accused later forcibly entered her house when she was alone and took photographs of her. “He threatened to throw acid on me if I did not comply with his demands and also threatened to harm my family members. Fearing for our safety, I felt I had no option,” she said. The accused allegedly recorded videos of the victim and generated additional deepfake content using artificial intelligence, which he circulated through fake social media accounts created in her name.
“He continues to contact me and my brother from those accounts, admitting his actions and threatening to continue. The trauma pushed me to attempt self-harm once,” she said. The victim’s mother alleged that attempts to approach the accused’s family yielded no response and that there was an initial delay in police action. “My daughter was a bright student, but she has stopped attending school due to fear and trauma,” she said.
Police said further investigation is underway and that additional arrests may follow. According to official records, the accused’s father and four members of his family had earlier faced proceedings before a Foreigners Tribunal in Silchar on suspicion of illegal migration from Bangladesh.
