Margherita, Aug. 8: Hundreds of protesters blocked National Highway-37 at Talap in Assam's Tinsukia district on Saturday, demanding the strictest punishment, for a man accused of allegedly raping and attempting to murder a specially-abled woman at Khobong tea estate.The protest, organised by the Tinsukia district unit of the Gorkha Students' Association with support from the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA), tea garden workers and local residents, saw demonstrators burning tyres, raising slogans and disrupting traffic on the busy highway for several hours. The highway blockade disrupted vehicular movement for several hours as protesters pressed for swift legal action. "We demand the strictest punishment for the accused. He allegedly raped the girl and then tried to kill her. Tea workers spotted what had happened, informed the locals, and the police arrested him. Such crimes should invite exemplary punishment so that no one even thinks of committing such an act," a protester said.Police personnel remained deployed at the protest site to maintain law and order while officials attempted to persuade demonstrators to lift the blockade.Another protester said, "Papu Ahmed mercilessly raped the girl. Such a person is not fit to live in society. We demand an encounter of the accused, demolition of his house, and that his family be evicted from the area." The protesters maintained that the case should be fast-tracked and that the accused should face the harshest punishment permissible under law. According to local residents, the incident took place on Friday at Khobong tea estate, where the accused, identified as Papu Ahmed, allegedly stripped the woman, raped her inside the tea garden and attempted to kill her before fleeing the spot. Tea garden workers reportedly noticed the victim, alerted nearby residents and informed the police. An angry crowd later surrounded the accused's residence before police intervened. Ahmed was subsequently arrested and taken into custody before being sent to Doomdooma Police Station.