The 17-year-old victim’s statement before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Lalngaihmawia Zote Tuesday was completely different from the statement given to police where she had given a clean chit to her 21-year-old boyfriend. In the court, she also did not name one of the three 14-year-olds accused of raping her.
According to the fresh statement, the girl said that though they were friends for three years, she did not love the accused. “(On August 3), Around 8 pm (he) came to came to our house at Rolui village and said, ‘We need to talk’. When I pressed him he replied, ‘Come with me and I will tell you’. So I followed him out. He went towards the middle school. When we reached there he said he forgot something and went back, telling me to wait for him.”
In court she said, “After a while he came back alone and immediately cupped his hands over my mouth. I struggled a lot and he was surprised, so he whistled. Six of his friends came out from behind a nearby tree and grabbed hold of me. They carried me towards a retaining wall on the way to Sihphir. Sometimes they dragged me… Near the retaining wall Singh took off my clothes and the others also helped him.”
After the statement, police arrested the youth on Wednesday and took him to district headquarters Lunglei the same night. They produced him before a magistrate Thursday to obtain a 72-hour police remand for further questioning.
Source: Indian Express
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