Apr 11: A 14-year-old girl, a student of Class IX was allegedly gangraped at a birthday party in Nadia district of West Bengal. Police have arrested a Trinamool Congress panchayat member after the victim’s family accused him of committing the crime. The accused has been identified as Brajagopal Alias Sohail Gayali.
He was first detained and then arrested last night. In their complaint, the victim’s family said that the girl went to the residence of the accused last week to attend his birthday party, but she returned home in an ailing condition and died soon after.
Rupankar Sengupta, additional SP of Ranaghat Police District said, “Last night a complaint was received at Hanshkhali PS. Accordingly, Hanshkhali PS case no. 327/22 dt 10.04.22 u/s 376(3)/302/201/34 IPC and 6 POSCO act have been registered. During the investigation, one person has been detained for interrogation. The investigation is in progress including the reason behind the delay in lodging FIR.”
“Our daughter was bleeding profusely and had severe abdominal pain after she came back from the party at the residence of the local TMC leader’s son, and before we could take her to hospital, she died. From the sequence of events and after talking to the people present at the party, we are sure she was gang-raped by the accused and his friends,” the girl’s mother told reporters.
She also alleged that a group of people forcibly took the minor’s body for cremation even before her death certificate was issued.
Reacting to the development, senior TMC leader and the state’s Minister of Women and Child Development, Sashi Panja, said the ruling party has zero-tolerance for abuse of minors and women.
“There should not be any politics over the incident. Police will do everything possible to investigate and take further action,” she said.
The incident comes days after an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped and tortured by her cousin’s boyfriend in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. The victim was found by locals near a fishery. She was bleeding profusely when she was found, police said.
A 22-year-old man, the accused, was arrested by the police from Domjur in the Howrah district. According to police, the accused had “promised his girlfriend a new mobile phone and money” if she let her sister spend the night with him.
During interrogation, the accused said he left the minor girl beside the fishery as he thought she had died.
