The brutal rape and murder of Champa Chettri, a 20-year-old in Baragolai, Tinsukia district of Assam, has led to a series of protests and demonstrations across the state. The girl's charred and badly disfigured body was discovered floating on the Dihing River. The police have since arrested two men - Biswajit Chettri and Moinul Ali - and charged them under Section 366, 376 and 342/34 of the IPC.

The incident has led to state-wide protests with students from the All Assam Gorkha Students' Union organising candlelight marches, and calling for a 12-hour shutdown in protest of such barbarism and the strictest action to be taken against the accused.

Rakesh Furba Sherpa, President, Tinsukia Regional Committee at All Assam Gorkha Students Union, has written a letter in Hindi to the Prime Minister which has since been shared widely on social media. He writes, "It is sad that the 2012 Nirbhaya case has been repeated in Assam... I don't think you've learned anything about laws for women's safety despite all your foreign trips in the last two years."

A candlelight march for justice for the victim was attended by more than 1,000 people, and also included celebrated mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa from Arunachal Pradesh, who scaled Mount Everest thrice, celebrity super model Rewati Chetri, and M Sangma, a celebrity cancer survivor cyclist from Meghalaya.

A bandh was also declared through the Tinsukia district on Monday demanding strict action on the accused. Main areas like Makum, Jagun, Margherita, Tinsukia, and Bargolai were completely shut down. The police detained members of the All Assam Gorkha Students Union during the bandh to prevent any violence in the district.