GUWAHATI

Five Muslim villages denied space for the burial of a youth shot by the police on Monday (June 1, 2026) after he attacked a Class 12 girl and her cousin, killing the latter.

The last rites of Ashik Ali alias Roz were performed at the plot of a relative on Tuesday evening (June 2, 2026) after locals refused burial at the public burial ground used by the five villages.

Roz was accused of stalking the girl and pressuring her family to marry her despite having been spurned. He allegedly attacked the girl, 18, and her cousin Madhurjya Barman, 19, with a sharp weapon on Sunday evening when the two were returning from Nalbari town.

The incident happened about 300 metres from the girl’s house at Gangapur in Nalbari district’s Mukalmua town. Madhurjya, a local leader of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), died on the spot while the girl was rushed to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in a serious condition.

Mukalmua is a little more than 50 km west of Guwahati.

GMCH Superintendent Devajit Choudhury told journalists that she was showing signs of improvement. “We are treating her multiple injuries, but she will require counselling to recover from the trauma,” he said.

Nalbari’s Superintendent of Police, Bibekananda Das, said the accused went into hiding after attacking the two teenagers. The police tracked him down to a sandbar near Mukalmua.

“After arrest, he was leading our team to the site where he had concealed the murder weapon. He suddenly snatched a self-loading rifle from one of our men and fired four rounds. He was killed in retaliatory firing, in which one of our men was injured,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Nalbari MLA, Jayanta Mallabaruah, and the AASU’s chief advisor, Samujjal Bhattacharya, visited Madhurjya’s residence on Tuesday (June 2).

“Madhurjya was the sole hope and support of his family. His untimely demise has left an irreplaceable void. I conveyed my deepest condolences and assured the family of all possible support during this difficult time,” the MLA said.

Mr Bhattacharya said Madhurjya’s death was a “personal loss” for the students’ union.

Meanwhile, the police in eastern Assam’s Majuli arrested four men and two juveniles for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl repeatedly. Police said the girl was found to be pregnant for six months.

“The pregnancy came to light recently, following which her family lodged a complaint. Medical examinations indicated that the girl was 11 years old when the accused started abusing her. She turned 12 about four months ago,” a police officer said.