3 teens arrested for alleged rape and murder of 16-year-old girl in Assam

Mangalore Today News Network

Assam, Aug 4, 2026: Assam Police have arrested three teenagers, including a 17-year-old boy, for the alleged rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Hailakandi district.

According to investigating officers, the victim was allegedly in a relationship with one of the accused.

The 16-year-old girl was found dead at her home near National Highway-6 in Assam’s Hailakandi district on Saturday night. The family has alleged that she was raped and brutally murdered.

Police said they initially detained five youths on Sunday but by Monday had arrested three teenagers aged between 17 and 19. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case.

"One of them is 17-and-a-half years old but considering the brutality of the case, we have appealed to the court to try him as an adult," said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Hailakandi, Amitabh Sinha.

The incident took place in the Aloichora area under Katlicherra police station at 11 pm on Saturday. The victim’s family said they were attending a feast at a relative’s house nearby at the time.

"She was at the feast too, but after an argument with a cousin, she left for home at 10.30 pm. We thought we’d bring some food for her later, but when we reached home around an hour later, we were horrified to see her body," the victim’s mother said.

She said her body was found lying on the floor, almost unrecognisable.

"It was horrible; how can a human treat another human, a little girl, in such a brutal manner," she said, while demanding capital punishment for the accused.

The victim’s sister alleged that the attackers used utensils and other objects to mutilate the body after the assault.

A senior officer on Monday said the victim’s private parts were mutilated and her body had severe injury marks indicating that she was tortured with different objects.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Hailakandi, Samir Darpan Baruah said the three accused have been booked under section 65(1) (rape of a girl under 16), 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

"These are the initial sections we have invoked and as the investigation progresses, we may add a few more sections," Baruah said, adding that more arrests are possible in this case.

"We have seized mobile phones of several others and are questioning them," he added. Police said the arrested accused were produced before the court but refused to share further details citing the sensitivity of the incident.

"We have appealed to the people as well as social media users not to reveal sensitive information regarding the incident. We understand the sentiment but we also need to understand the sensitivity of the case," he said.

SSP Sinha said the motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained but it was found that the accused persons were familiar to the victim and knew everything about her house.

"They knew the house. There were communications between the girl and the boys and we are investigating this further. However, we cannot come to any conclusion. We can only say that a thorough investigation is underway," he added.

The incident sparked massive protests in Hailakandi and other parts of Assam’s Barak Valley. In Hailakandi, locals on Sunday blocked NH-6 connecting Assam and Mizoram.

The protesters are demanding capital punishment for the accused.