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Bengal: Hanskhali minor was gang-raped, allegedly killed by 9 men, CBI tells court
The son of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) panchayat member Samarendu Gayali, Brajagopal, is the main accused in the alleged incident which took place at the former’s residence in Hanskhali area on April 4.
The Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its charge sheet against nine people in connection with the alleged gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in West Bengal’s Nadia district in April, officials said.
The son of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) panchayat member Samarendu Gayali, Brajagopal, is the main accused in the alleged incident which took place at the former’s residence in Hanskhali area on April 4.
In its charge sheet which was filed at a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court in the district, the CBI has accused nine people, including Gayali and Brajagopal, of gang rape and murder, officials said. “Investigation revealed that the minor victim was allegedly gang-raped by three accused after she was intoxicated. It was further alleged that the family of the minor victim was threatened by three other accused in conspiracy with the prime accused, preventing the family from taking her to hospital. The minor victim died the following morning,” the agency said in a statement.
“It was also alleged that the accused immediately took the dead body and cremated it without giving an opportunity for medical examination,” it added.
On April 12, a division bench of Calcutta high court ordered a CBI probe into the incident.
In its charge sheet, the CBI said eight people have been arrested and the ninth accused is still absconding, officials said.
HT tried to reach out to TMC leaders for a reaction but could not get one immediately.
State BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: The crime could not have been committed without the connivance of the police and TMC leaders.”
