3 min readGuwahatiAug 5, 2026 07:25 PM IST
Five teenagers have been arrested in connection with the gruesome rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Assam’s Hailakandi district, days after she was attacked inside her own house while her mother and younger brother were away for her grandmother’s funeral rituals.
The 16-year-old’s body had been discovered in a pool of blood by her mother and younger brother on the night of August 1 in their house, when they returned from the bhoj ceremony. Police said that a brick had been used to kill her. A foreign object had been inserted in her private parts, which police said was found to be a kitchen utensil used to mash dal.
Hailakandi SSP Amitav Sinha said the victim’s mother identified the utensil as belonging to her own kitchen. The girl’s father had passed away a few years ago, and her brother works outside the state.
“The preliminary investigation had suggested that there was no forced entry, indicating that someone close to her had done it. On Tuesday, we arrested three people in connection with this. Then, in the early hours of Wednesday, we arrested two more. All of these accused are teenagers, and one is a juvenile aged 16. All of the accused were known to her,” said SSP Sinha.
Sinha said that during the course of the investigation, the police claim to have found that the victim had been in a relationship with one of the accused, an 18-year-old who was one of those arrested on Tuesday.
“During the interrogation, one of the accused claimed she had been in a relationship with another accused, and that the men decided to get together to ‘teach her a lesson’ since she remained in touch with both. That night, she confided in her boyfriend, telling him that her mother and brother were away. Knowing that she was alone, he went to the house with two of his friends, and the other man went with one of their friends, and they attacked her together,” he said.
He said the victim was a school student, while the accused worked as e-rickshaw and autorickshaw drivers.
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The accused have been booked under sections pertaining to rape of a minor and murder, and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police have also constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case, assisted by forensic teams.
The incident generated outrage in the area, triggering protests by locals. Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi condemned the incident, calling it “deeply disturbing and a curse on our society”.