Police have found the body of the main suspect in the alleged gang rape of a minor girl in Assam’s Dhing district.

The main suspect in the case, Tafazul Islam, is said to have escaped from police custody, jumped into a pond and died, police said Saturday morning.

Nagaon district police chief Swapnaneel Deka told ANI over the phone that police arrested Tafazul Islam on Friday in connection with the case.

“When a police team took him to the incident spot last night, the main suspect tried to flee and jumped into a pond located near the spot. Our police personnel launched a search operation and with the help of the SDRF team, we recovered his body from the pond this morning,” he said.

The senior police official said an operation was underway to arrest the other two suspects.

A 14-year-old girl was reportedly raped by three people on August 22 evening in Dhing district while she was on her way home after her tutoring session.

The incident led to massive protests in Dhing district, with locals and various organisations demanding strict action against the perpetrators.

Assam Director General of Police GP Singh visited the site on Friday and met the victim’s family members and spoke to senior police officials.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday about the incident: “When there is atrocities against women, we should take immediate action.”

Sarma told the media: “I want to say just one thing. If there is any atrocities against women, we should take swift action. But the public should see that the government is taking strict action. If people feel that the government is lax, they get angry. If such incidents happen, the government should take very aggressive action. The Bengal government did not do that, so people got angry.”

He further stated that after this year’s Lok Sabha elections, “we see a specific community of people engaging in criminal activities.”

“The perpetrators of the Dhing incident involving a minor Hindu man will be punished,” he added.

According to reports, local residents found the girl semi-conscious on the side of the road and immediately took her to hospital.

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