The police on Thursday detained three CPRF jawans in Udalguri in connection with the alleged rape of two women in the strife-torn district. Earlier in the day, the victims had identified the met at an identification parade.Confirming this, Udalguri Deputy Commissioner Kamal Mahanta said though the two women, allegedly raped on October 19, identified three of the jawans lined up at an identification parade at the Rowta police station, but were not sure whether they were perpetrators of the crime. “However, the medical examination carried out at the Mangaldoi civil hospital had given negative results,” Mahanta said. The Assam Government has now asked the AIIMS in New Delhi to send a team of specialists to re-examine the two women.“We have asked for specialists from AIIMS in view of the large-scale protest being raised by various groups over the alleged rapes. A two-member team of doctors from AIIMS are arriving here on Friday to carry out another examination on the two women,” Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said.The two women, one a Bodo tribal and the other a non-tribal Assamese, were allegedly raped by CPRF jawans on patrol duty in Bhalukmari village under Rowta police outpost on October 19. Two separate cases have been registered in Rowta outpost on October 20, he said. The incident of alleged rape occurred even as the districts of Udalguri and adjoining Darrang witnessed large-scale violence that rendered several thousand homeless and forced several thousand more to flee to safety.Meanwhile, a joint delegation of women’s rights groups called on Governor S C Mathur and demanded immediate arrest of the CRPF personnel. “The statements of the women alleging rape are enough to order an arrest of the offenders and initiate investigation. The said investigation would include statements of witnesses and the survivors and not just the medical test on the women,” a joint statement said.A team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also arrived and is currently on a fact-finding visit to the riot-hit districts. A 24-hour bandh called by the All Koch Rajbangshi Students’ Union affected normal life in Udalguri district.
