E-Paper
Clashes in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur after minor found dead, family alleges rape
Police said they have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the incident. They said that the girl and the accused were known to each other
A clash broke out between the locals and the police in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district on Friday after a minor girl’s body, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found.
The girl, 17, was found dead near a pond at Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur on Friday, a day after she went missing on Thursday.
Police said that as the news spread, an irate mob blocked the road by burning tyres and attacked cops with bricks following which police had to use tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Police said that the family members have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter alleging she was raped and murdered, however, the preliminary post-mortem report didn’t suggest rape.
Police said they have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the incident. They said that the girl and the accused were known to each other.
Also Read: NHRC seeks report from DGP, Howrah police commissioner on Ram Navami violence
“We have already arrested the prime accused based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s mother. He has been charged with murder (IPC 302) and under the POCSO Act as the victim was a minor. The preliminary post-mortem report didn’t show any injuries. A poison bottle was recovered from the spot where the girl’s body was found. We are investigating all angles,” a senior police officer had told the media on Friday.
Meanwhile, a video purportedly showing the cops dragging the body of the girl on the road has also gone viral on social media, which led to further protests from the locals.
Sana Akhtar, superintendent of police (SP), Raiganj district was not available for comments. HT couldn’t check the authenticity of the video.
Slamming the state police, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that they were trying to eliminate the evidence to cover up the crime.
“In this video, the body West Bengal police is insensitively dragging is that of a minor rape and murder victim from the Rajbongshi community in Uttar Dinajpur’s Kaliaganj. Such haste is often seen when the purpose is to eliminate or dilute evidence and cover up the crime,” Amit Malviya, head of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT cell wrote on Twitter while sharing the video on the social media platform.
“The police should have used a stretcher or an ambulance to carry the victim’s body rather than what they did. But the body had to be taken out anyhow to avoid any flare-up and to conduct the post-mortem,” said Uttar Dinajpur Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Kanayalal Agarwal.
The National Commission for Women also took cognizance of the incident and said that stringent action must be taken against police officials who were purportedly seen in the video dragging the victim’s body.
On Saturday, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar visited the incident spot and spoke with the victim’s family. The BJP has also organised demonstrations at multiple places.
