Guwahati: A video of a young girl where five men can be seen brutally torturing and sexually assaulting her has gone viral on social media, following which, the Assam police have released images of the culprits and sought more information from the public so that they can be arrested. Taking to Twitter, the Assam police has also offered a reward for those who can report about the accused men. In its post with the images of the accused, the Assam police wrote, “These images are of 5 culprits who are seen brutally torturing and violating a young girl in a viral video. The time or place of this incident is not clear. Anyone with information regarding this crime or the criminals may please contact us. They will be rewarded handsomely.”

The official Twitter handle of the Assam police also tagged the police handles of nearby north-eastern states and wrote, “We must stand together to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.” The police team further added, “Though it is not clear where this incident took place and it may not be from Assam, we are reaching out to proactively locate the culprits.”

As per reports, the viral video shows the accused slapping and hitting the girl before stripping off her clothes. The disturbing and graphic video was reportedly circulated widely, with people assuming the victim to be from Nagaland, based on reports of a Naga woman’s death by suicide in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, on May 23. However, several media houses quoted Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, Robin Hibu clarifying that this video has nothing to do with the Naga woman who had committed suicide in Jodhpur where she worked. Hibu also said that the police are trying to ascertain the identities of the criminals. “We are trying to identify the culprits. Police are on the job,” Hibu said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju too issued a similar statement on Twitter. He wrote, “The viral video of a girl from North-East being brutally raped and tortured by 4 men & 1 woman is not related to Jodhpur suicide case. I had detail discussion with the Police Commissioner of Jodhpur. However, there must be all-out efforts by all State Police to catch the devils.”

The union minister also appealed the public to help the police in a bid to nab the criminals associated with the case.