Guwahati, Aug 3: Assam Police in the Hailakandi district have arrested five people in connection with the brutal murder of a 15-year-old girl at her residence in the Aloichora area under Katlichera police station, officials said on Monday.

Police said that the suspects are scheduled to be produced before a local court on Monday as authorities widen their investigation to explore all possible angles in the horrific crime.

A senior police official said the incident occurred late Saturday night around 11:00 p.m. when the victim was alone at home.

According to local sources, the girl had initially gone to a nearby relative’s house with her family to attend a feast. However, following a minor disagreement with a cousin, she returned home early.

When the family returned later that night, they discovered her body lying on the floor. The assault was carried out with extreme brutality — her face and head were heavily disfigured, rendering her body almost unrecognisable to her family.

The victim’s relatives have alleged that she was sexually assaulted before being murdered, citing severe injuries found on the body.

The discovery of the crime sparked intense public outrage in the region.

Angry local residents took to the streets and blocked National Highway 6, demanding immediate action, the swift arrest of those responsible, and stringent punishment for the culprits.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in the Hailakandi district, Amitabh Sinha, confirmed that a formal case has been registered and that law enforcement moved quickly to pick up five individuals for questioning.

While the family continues to maintain that sexual violence took place, police officials stated that they are awaiting the final post-mortem report to medically confirm the allegations of sexual assault and establish the precise cause of death.

Reiterating its commitment to justice, the district administration assured that strict legal action will follow against anyone found involved in the crime.

Forensic teams have collected evidence from the crime scene, and police are currently cross-examining the detained individuals to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the murder.

Kolkata, Aug 3: The West Bengal Police arrested a Trinamool Congress leader and recovered firearms, live cartridges and a bomb from his house during a search operation in South 24 Parganas district’s Canning area, police officials said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Alauddin Tarafdar, a resident of Uttar Angadberia village under Dighirpar gram panchayat in the Canning police station area. The police said he is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) booth president.

According to the police, a raid was carried out at Tarafdar’s residence late on Sunday night following a tip-off. During the search, officers recovered a firearm, a small firearm, four live cartridges and a live bomb. He was arrested, and the recovered weapons were taken into custody for forensic examination as well as further investigation.

The accused is scheduled to be produced before the Alipore court on Monday. A police officer said investigators would seek his police custody to question him further.

“An application will be made to take him into police custody for the sake of investigation. We are trying to ascertain why the firearms and explosives were kept there and whether any other persons are linked to the case,” the officer said.

The arrest comes amid a series of arms recoveries in South 24 Parganas and adjoining districts over the past few weeks.

On July 27, the police conducted a joint raid in the Bishnupur area of South 24 Parganas and arrested three persons after recovering two firearms, three rounds of live ammunition and cash amounting to Rs 20,65,900.

Earlier, on June 20, the police recovered 14 long-range firearms and 95 rounds of ammunition from a pond in Basanti in the same district. Two local TMC leaders were arrested in connection with the recovery. The weapons were allegedly concealed in the pond near the residence of Shaokat Gayen.

In another incident on June 15, fishermen casting nets in a pond at Habra in North 24 Parganas found two bags containing eight firearms and 97 rounds of live cartridges. The police later seized the weapons and launched an investigation into their origin and intended use.

Madurai, Aug 3: Five people from Chennai, including a three-year-old girl, were killed and two others seriously injured in a multiple-vehicle accident after a car lost control, crossed the median and collided head-on with another vehicle near Melur in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district on Monday.

The accident occurred on the Thumbaipatti four-lane road overbridge when a car carrying five members of a group was travelling from Chennai towards Tirunelveli along the National Highway.

According to police, the car first rammed into a two-wheeler travelling ahead of it while passing over the flyover. Following the collision, the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which veered across the median and entered the opposite carriageway.

Within moments, the out-of-control car crashed head-on into another car coming from the opposite direction.

The second vehicle was travelling from Madurai towards Tiruchy when the collision occurred. The impact of the crash was severe, leaving the Chennai-bound vehicle badly damaged.

Five occupants were killed on the spot before emergency personnel could reach them.

Police identified four of the deceased as Sriman of Madipakkam in Chennai, Rajakumari, Ranja and three-year-old Pranika. They were reported to be members of the same family. The identity of the fifth person, who was travelling along with the family, was yet to be established.

Following information about the accident, personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Melur police and the 108 ambulance service rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations.

Two persons who sustained grievous injuries were pulled out of the damaged vehicles and taken to the Melur Government Hospital for treatment.

Police said one of the injured was travelling in the car from Chennai, while the other was an occupant of the second car that was heading towards Tiruchy.

The bodies of the five victims were recovered from the wreckage and sent to the government hospital for post-mortem examination.

The accident led to severe traffic disruption on the busy four-lane stretch as damaged vehicles and rescue operations blocked movement for some time.

Police personnel regulated traffic and subsequently cleared the vehicles from the road to restore normal movement. The Melur police have registered a case and initiated an investigation to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the accident.