Guwahati, July 19: Cachar police had to fire a few rounds in the air to disperse irate protesters and control the situation in Silchar town on Tuesday night following the recovery of a woman’s body, reportedly from an under-construction building.
The woman was alleged to have been raped and murdered.
According to police sources, the situation turned volatile after “miscreants” took the body of the woman to the Rangirkhari area in the heart of the town and staged a protest demonstration, shouting slogans and pelting stones at security personnel.
A CRPF jawan suffered grievous injuries while some policemen also were injured in the incident. Notably, security was beefed up in the area with heavy deployment of police personnel in the area till the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to Cachar superintendent of police Numal Mahatta, the situation became tense after the body of the deceased woman was handed over to the family members.
“The family members were cooperative. But after the body was handed over to the family, some miscreants, without the consent of the deceased’s family, took the body of the woman to Rangirkhari area in the heart of Silchar town. Thereafter, they staged a demonstration, shouted slogans and even pelted stones on security persons, resulting in injuries to a CRPF jawan and some police personnel,” Mahatta said.
“Subsequently, we were compelled to fire two to three rounds of ammunition in the air to disperse the miscreants who had also damaged government property, including a vehicle of the in-charge of Rangirkhari police station and a vehicle belonging to the forest department,” the SP said.
“We have detained some persons and are interrogating them. Further investigation is on and we will take strict action against the miscreants,” he said.
Reportedly, the family members of the deceased woman have demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident and necessary action against the perpetrators of the crime.