Guwahati

As the people of the Barbheti village of Dhing, district Nagaon, in central Assam boycotted the funeral of the man accused of rape of a 15-year-old school girl, the body of Tafazzul Islam, was quietly buried in private land in the village.

Sources said the man was buried late last night in a private land by family members amid police protection as no locals joined his funeral prayers.

The villagers stood their ground and boycotted the funeral prayers of the accused who died of drowning while in the custody of the Police on Friday night and not permit his burial in the community graveyard.

 The villagers also even decided to ostracize the family of the slain man.

According to police, three locals including Tafazzul Islam had waylaid a class 10th student on her way back from coaching on Thursday, gang raped her, and left her semi-conscious on the roadside.

The victim is being treated at the hospital with the help of doctors, a team of phyciarists. her fathert who rushed from Guwahati said she was not able to speak to him when he saw her first.

It was a spontaneous decision of the villagers as protests erupted all over the State over the alleged gang rape of a girl who was returning home on her bicycle after her tuition class.

One of the three accused arrested was Tafazzul Islam, a 24-year-old man from Barbheti village. Police claimed he escaped from its custody while he was taken to the crime scene at 3 am and jumped into the water.

His listless body was fished out from the water body and sent for post-mortem.

Sources said that in the village some people tried to convince the locals not to oppose Tafazzul’s burial in the graveyard but it was useless.

Tafazzul, 24, a resident of a riverine sandbar, died after jumping into the pond at Friday midnight.

News agency ANI posted this video of the search for the body of Tafazzul on X:

Tafazzul Islam, accused in #Assam’s Dhing gang-rape of a 15-year-old Hindu girl, drowns in a pond while trying to escape police custody and dies.
Good riddance. pic.twitter.com/EdQ2EdKqxA

— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) August 24, 2024

According to Police, Tafazzul was taken to the crime scene at Barbheti in Dhing by the police to investigate the incident of rape. When the police were trying to recreate the crime scene, Tafazzul escaped and jumped into the pond.

Police recovered the body of Tafazzul with the help of divers, and boats.

Protests have continued to rock across the state with people demanding the arrest of two other men involved in the heinous crime.

The two other accused from Barbheti village are still absconding.

Assam DGP GP Singh and Minister Pijush Hazarika visited Dhing on Friday.

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Representatives from various organizations turned up at Dhing to register their protests and demanded stringent punishment for the perpetrators of the heinous crime.