Assam PWD Engineer Faces Rape Charges Following Minor's Rescue

Guwahati: Assam police registered a case against Public Works Department executive engineer Santanu Kumar Nath for the rape and sexual assault of a minor girl. The FIR, filed at Azara Police Station on September 3 at 9:30 pm, invokes multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act. Nath is accused of repeatedly assaulting the 16-year-old girl during her employment at his Majirgaon home. He allegedly administered contraceptives and used threats to ensure her silence.

The girl escaped after working there for five years. She was rescued by the Palashbari police on August 25 and placed in the Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home. During counseling, she revealed the abuse. She told staff she had been "threatened against speaking about it." The girl claims Nath offered her mother Rs 50,000 to drop the issue and coerced her into signing an affidavit falsifying her age.

Nath is currently underground. Police have also named a local contractor, Phool Baishya, as a person of interest. The Kamrup District Committee of the Assam Tea Tribe Students' Association demanded an immediate investigation on September 3, citing the sluggish pace of police action. Officials previously delayed the girl's medical examination and moved her between shelters in Jalukbari and Kamrup. Investigators are currently seeking Nath for questioning, but his phone remains switched off.