Two armymen dismissed on rape charges

GUWAHATI, July 8: An Army court martial has awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment and dismissed from service two personnel currently posted in Nalbari district of Lower Assam after they were found guilty of raping two women in the district.

An Army press note issued here today said the incident was reported to have occurred on June 16. The trial was completed on July 6. The two Army personnel were, however, not named. Sources said a driver and a washer-man were allegedly involved in the crime. The incident occurred after the Army raided villages in Nalbari district following a powerful bomb explosion by the ULFA at Paikarkuchi which narrowly missed an Army vehicle on June 15. Various women groups of the district protested against the rapes. A women’s group even launched an indefinite hunger strike.