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A 14-year-old girl, who was gang-raped in Assam's Nagaon district on August 22, had asked her aunt about what rape is just two days before the incident.
"Aunty, what is rape?", recalled the survivor's aunt about what her niece asked she read articles on the rape and murder of the trainee doctor in Kolkata.
The aunt said that she felt "shattered" following the incident.
"I never thought something so gruesome would happen here. It looks like I have failed to protect her," she said.
"She dreams of becoming the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) one day. She even spoke to the DSP, when the latter came to visit her at the hospital, and managed to smile at her," she said.
The girl was gang-raped just 1 km away from her house in Nagaon's Dhing, while she was returning home from her tuition classes on August 22.
Locals found her in an unconscious state, following which she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The girl lived with her aunt and grandparents, and she usually returned home from her tuition with her aunt or in a rickshaw. However, she rode a bicycle to tuition on the day of the incident
Widespread protests have broken out in Assam over this incident, demanding justice for her and stringent punishment for the accused.
Her aunt further said that the girl's father is in Guwahati and, as he couldn't support her financially, he sent her to stay with her aunt in Dhing. Her aunt, who earns Rs 10,000 per month, takes care of her education and basic needs.
The survivor's father said, "Seeing my daughter in the hospital in such a state, where she was not even able to talk, was heart-breaking."
He girl's aunt also said that once she recovers, she would probably take her away from Dhing for her safety.
Notably, one of the accused in the case, Tafazul Islam, allegedly died after jumping into a pond to escape from the police, they said. Further investigation is on and a search is on for the other accused, the Police said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condemned the incident, and said that it was a "crime against humanity”.
"The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience. We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE," he said in a post on X.
