Government employee held for raping teen in Tripura

AGARTALA: A police station in East Agartala produced a 35-year-old employee of the Tripura health department and a leader of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh in a local court on Monday seeking his remand. The employee was arrested in Unakoti district’s Kumarghat on Sunday based on a complaint of rape by a 17-year-old destitute girl.
A police officer said the person working as a support staff in the state referral hospital, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital of the city, confessed to the crime during interrogation. He was later produced in a fast-track court.
This is the sixth case of rape in 10 days in the state, which has turned the political situation volatile and embarrassed the BJP-led government in Tripura barely three months ahead of assembly elections. The opposition parties have blamed the government for its alleged failure to protect women and to tackle the deteriorating law and order.
According to the complaint, the victim lived in a home in the city after the death of her parents at a tender age. A few months ago, one of her distant relatives — the mother of the accused — took her home. Sometime back, the accused gave the victim a tranquiliser and raped her. Subsequently, she was sexually abused by the accused several times. Recently, when she found out that she was three-month pregnant, she lodged an FIR against him. During the investigation, police found him at Kumarghat and arrested him.
“On an average, 13 women are raped in Tripura daily and the rate is increasing day by day,” said Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman.
Meanwhile, Panisagar SDPO Souvik De said police registered an FIR on Sunday and launched a search for the accused persons based on the complaint of a 25-year-old homemaker who was allegedly gang-raped on October 26 evening in a car. One of the accused is her husband. “I did not know about the incident until it was flashed in the media. It wasn’t the police’s intention to harass the victim,” De said.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court's directives on cases related to sexual assault)