Bengal gangrape victim dies, police accused of shielding key accused

The victim was called out from her house on August 24 by her boyfriend and taken to a nearby field, where he and his friends raped her. They also filmed the incident and threatened to release video if she didn’t stay quiet.

A class 10 student, who was allegedly gang raped in Bengal’s East Midnapore district on August 24, died at Kolkata’s state-run SSKM Hospital on Thursday night, losing a five-day battle against death.

A West Bengal woman was gangraped by her boyfriend and his friends on Aug 24. She was hospitalised after consuming pesticide (Representative photograph of a woman lying on the floor. Shutterstock)

She had consumed pesticide on Saturday night after she was brutalised by six persons including her boyfriend.

She died close to midnight on Thursday. She was brought to SSKM, the biggest referral hospital in the state after her condition deteriorated at a district hospital.

Police have arrested four of the six persons named in the police complaint lodged by the father of the victim.

However, discontent is brewing in the locality with the relatives of the victim claiming that the police are trying to shield one of the accused who is a brother of a civic volunteer.

The girl was called out from her house on August 24 by her boyfriend and taken to a nearby field, where he and his friends raped her.

“We are going back to the village with the body (of the girl). We would block NH6 with the body and would agitate till the area Superintendent of Police comes to the spot and promises to arrest the brother of the civic volunteer without delay,” said a relative of the girl.

Police officers, however, said they are doing their best.

“We have earlier arrested Biswajit Patra, Samir Mandal and Sourav Dalui who were sent to police custody for three days by a Tamluk court. The fourth one is a minor who was sent to a welfare home,” said Kashinath Choudhury, officer-in-charge of Kolaghat police station, about 67 kilometers from Kolkata.

“The other accused are on the run and we are looking for them,” added Chowdhury, without revealing their names.

“We were offered money and asked not to lodge police complaint. But what would we do with money if our daughter is not there?” said the father of the victim.

On Friday morning, an organisation working for women welfare along with the locals, held a demonstration in Kolaghat area of East Midnapore district demanding immediate arrest of the two accused.