Agartala: Semi-literate lecher Gautam Sharma of Maheshkhola area who had raped a college girl along with his accomplices on a vehicle was arrested by police last night from near his home and confessed having committed the crime on a vehicle before dumping the body on roadside after a failed attempt to strangle the hapless girl to death.

In the course of interrogation by police lecher Gautam Sharma who works as a contractual labourer on underground cable laying of BSNL said that he had been waiting on a vehicle in front of the victim girl’s college as part of the conspiracy and offered to drop her at home in Kathaltali . Since the girl knew the lecher and called him ‘Dada’ (elder brother) she agreed and paid the price.

Since the news caught the attention of the highest authority in the state and the SP (West) became hyper-active the police swung into action and rushed the girl in the trauma centre of GBP hospital where she is in so critical condition that she is yet to make a statement and the medical test is also waiting to be done. But police came to know from lecherous Gautam that the girl had been persuaded to drink alocohol in the name of cold drinks.

According to doctor’s advice the police will take the girl’s statement soon after she partially recovers from the trauma and then the normal legal procedure will commence with recording of the victim girl’s statement under Section 164 of CrPc. Police sources said that rapist Gautam Sharma is being produced in court today and a remand for five days will be sought and expectedly granted.

The incident has triggered a serious reaction among the public all over the state and the chief minister Dr Manik Saha took it seriously by instructing police to take stern action and fast-tracking the case. The state BJP president Rajeev Bhattacharjee also deputed party general secretary Papiya Dutta to look into the case personally and make the police administration work sincerely to ensure exemplary punishment for the culprits. The CPI (M)’s womens front organization Democratic Womens Association also staged a demonstration demanding punishment for the rapists.

Meanwhile, the people of the state are now reminded of the cruel gang-rape and burning alive of a poor graduate girl Monti Deb in March 2020 in Mohanpur within a hundred yard of the Sidhai police station. On that occasion there was no arrest and no punishment .

Long before that in 1999 the then headmaster of Naboday school in Kakrabon Harishankar Tiwari of course had been found guilty of rape of a minor girl and had served a life term for the crime. But in most of the cases crimes against women go unpunished in Tripura and many people now opine that the ‘Yogi model of Uttar Pradesh in encountering’ heinous criminals should be replicated in the state without any further delay to save girls and women.