An enquiry has been initiated into the death of one of the alleged culprits of the Dhing minor girl gang rape case in police custody. The accused, who had been detained, was taken to the crime scene when he reportedly fell into a pond and drowned.

Hojai Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Pallav Tamuly, who has been entrusted with the probe, reached the scene of the incident on Wednesday evening and conducted a preliminary inspection.

Notably, a 14-year-old girl, a class 10 student, was returning home from tuition when she was allegedly gang-raped by three men in Nagaon district's Dhing on August 22. She was found in a semi-conscious state near a pool.

After some locals spotted her and alerted the police, she was rescued and rushed to Dhing FRU. However, looking at her condition, she was referred to Nagaon.

According to local residents who rescued her, she was lying on the road without any clothing for around an hour before being rescued. "We saw a girl lying near a pond with her cycle lying beside her. We went to her and asked what happened. She said three men raped her. We demand the culprit to be arrested within 12 hours," they said.

The police initially detained two persons on suspicions of involvement in the case. One of them, the prime suspect Tafazzul Islam was taken by the police to the crime scene for recreation when he reportedly tried to jump custody and fell into a pond. The police said that he could not be saved and his body was later pulled out from the water body.

Nagaon SP Swapnaneel Deka said, "The accused was taken to the crime scene when he pulled away from the official and fell into a pond. We immediately cordoned the area and SDRF was called in. However, his body was recovered after some time."