IMPHAL, June 20: The June 4 incident of the alleged gang rape and murder of a minor from Oktang Village will be resolved through the customary law and the final verdict of the Oktang Village Authority will be announced on June 27, said the village chief BT Achou today.
A team of Centre for Development and the Women Action for Development accompanied by media persons visited the village today in an effort to bring justice to the case.
According to the village chief, he had talked with the Tamenglong police on the phone regarding the incident and informed them that the case would be resolve according to their customary law.
Since then no police have come to investigate into the June 4 incident, he said.
On June 4, Shangrila (name changed) a 17 year old student from Oktang Village in Tamenglong district was raped and later killed allegedly by three persons all identified to be minors.
Her mutilated body was found hanging inside a deserted house by children who went to play there the next day on June 5.
The villagers have ever since apprehended all three accused.
The main accused was apprehended on June 6 from Senapati while the two other accused were apprehended on June 5 from the village itself.
However, all accused are kept in their own homes awaiting the announcement of the village authority’s verdict on June 27.
Speaking to the team, the victim’s father said Shangrila was a student of class VIII.
He said around 7pm of June 4, Shangrila was about to go to sleep with her mother when one of the accused called her out.
As her mother was already asleep, she managed to sneak out of the house, the father said.
About 50 meters from their house there is a deserted house where she met the main accused who was there with two other friends including the one who called her out.
The father also said that Shangrila was allegedly having a relation with the main accused since January this year.
He continued the main accused have already confessed before the village and said that Shangrila claimed she was pregnant with his child during their meeting on June 4.
This angered him and in his fit of rage raped her and then allowed his other friends to do so. They then hanged her inside the deserted house with a muffler, the father who was with the village chief recounted the confession of the three accused.
The main accused had also punctured the girl’s body with a 6mm iron rod.
The next day on June 5, some village children had gone to the deserted house to play and finding the girl hanging came out shouting.
This gathered the villagers who managed to nab the two co-accused but found the main accused missing from the village, he said.
The main accused was nabbed from Senapati the next day on June 6, he continued.
According to the village chief, the villagers angered by the heinous crime destroyed the house where the crime was committed.
He said as per a meeting held on June 7 of the Oktang Village Authority and attended by Inpui Wunion, Women Union, Inpui Students Union, youth leaders and elders of the village the three accused will be fined Rs 15,00,000 and expelled from the village. However, the verdict will be announced on June 27 and the accused will be given four day from the day the verdict is announce to leave the village, he continued.
The father also claimed that his family being poor could not even afford a post mortem of their daughter’s body.
Meanwhile, WAD member laitonjam Bijaya said proper justice should be brought to the case and it is unfortunate that he Tamenglong Police decided to remain silent on the issue.