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Kaliaganj rape-murder: Bengal child rights body slams NCPCR for politicising issue
NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanungo, who visited the victim’s family at their village on Sunday morning, claimed that police did not record their statements
Political rhetoric and a tussle between the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and its West Bengal counterpart over the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl at Kaliaganj in North Dinajpur district got intense on Sunday, a day after the police arrested the prime suspect, a 20-year-old boy, and his father.
The girl, 17, was found dead near a pond at Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur on Friday, a day after she went missing on Thursday.
Md Sana Akhtar, superintendent of police (SP), Raiganj, told the media on Saturday that the suspects were arrested based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s parents.
“A bottle, apparently containing poison, was found near the girl’s body. It was sent for post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death. There was no apparent sign of injury,” said the SP.
On Friday, police said that the preliminary post-mortem report does not suggest rape after family members demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter alleging she was raped and murdered.
NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanungo, who visited the victim’s family at their village on Sunday morning, claimed that police did not record their statements.
“Police should not reach any conclusion about the death as long as they do not record the statements of the family members. They said this has not been done till now. From what the family told me, it seems the suspects are infiltrators who have settled down illegally,” Kanungo told the media at Raiganj town.
He did not attend a meeting held at the office of the district magistrate where West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) chairperson Sudeshna Roy and advisor Ananya Chakraborti, who also met the victim’s family, were present.
“NCPCR investigation follows a defined procedure. Holding meetings is not part of it. I wanted to talk to the investigating officer and the doctor who conducted the post-mortem but they did not meet me. Our report will be placed before the Parliament,” said Kanungo who alleged the day before that law and order collapsed in Bengal.
Meanwhile, the WBCPCR chairperson and advisor alleged that instead of cooperating with the investigation and meeting them, Kanungo made statements that could only fan political unrest.
“It seems he has come here with an agenda,” said Roy.
In back-to-back tweets, the WBCPCR wrote: “Doing politics with the dead bodies of children in West Bengal by the keepers of child rights! Shameful NCPCR! It is regrettable the way NCPCR and its chairperson Priyank Kanungo is commenting on the state of children and women in West Bengal. He is making provocative comments without verifying facts. This could lead to a law and order situation.”
“Exposing an already distraught family to a large media despite their plea to be left alone to mourn. Child Rights? Shameful,” read another tweet.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student’s wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), staged agitation on Saturday demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Their supporters have also allegedly clashed with the police at Kaliaganj.
Following the incident, violence erupted in Uttar Dinajpur’s Kaliaganj after a video, purportedly showing cops dragging the body of the girl on the road. Locals allegedly clashed with police, blocked roads and set shops on fire, prompting police to fire tear gas shells and use stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
On Sunday, ABVP representatives met Kanungo and submitted a memorandum since the victim was a student.
A team of BJP leaders led by state president Sukanta Majumdar also visited the family on Saturday, a day after the police had stopped a BJP team from visiting the spot on Friday.
Majumdar said: “Even if the girl died by consuming poison, police should have probed the circumstances. The family and local villagers want a CBI investigation. We have come to know that a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader offered money to the family in a bid to silence them.”
Police are making a mockery in the name of post-mortem. They are acting in a biased manner, he had alleged.
Responding to this, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said: “Politics over the dead is part of BJP’s strategy. They had hit the streets citing a video showing policemen carrying the girl’s body. The policemen were in fact seen running away with the body because BJP supporters had attacked them. The troublemakers wanted to snatch the body.”
