Kolkata: Violence gripped Kaliaganj in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district Saturday as locals protested the alleged rape and murder of a minor. Police resorted to lathi charge and used tear gas shells to contain the crowd as local shops were set ablaze.
The teenager’s body was recovered from the bank of a pond on Friday morning. In a video statement uploaded on the Raiganj Police’s social media page, the police claimed that the minor had been missing since Thursday but the family had not filed any official complaint. On receiving inputs, the police began search operations.
A purported video of police dragging the body of the minor meanwhile has gone viral on social media, prompting the National Commission for Women to take cognizance and seek an action taken report from the West Bengal DGP within the next 72 hours.
Raiganj Police, however, has ruled out sexual assault in the preliminary stage of investigation.
“A medical board was constituted and prima facie there were no external injuries found on the victim’s body. Videography of the postmortem process has been conducted. We have found a poison bottle next to the body that has been sent for forensics. We will carry out a detailed investigation in the case. Based on the complaint filed by the minor’s family, two persons have been arrested,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Sana Akhtar, IPS, said in the video statement on Raiganj Police’s social media page.
The incident has triggered a political war in West Bengal with the BJP questioning the safety of women in the state to corner the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. West Bengal BJP alleged that the victim was raped and murdered while demanding a CBI probe into the incident.
“In a video, the body that 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. Shockingly, Mamata Banerjee’s administration didn’t allow local BJP MLAs Satyendra Nath Ray (from the Rajbongshi community) and Budhrai Tudu to visit the victim’s family but let Uttar Dinajpur TMC President Kanaia Lal Agarwal meet them. Who are they trying to save here?” tweeted BJP’s West Bengal in-charge Amit Malviya.
West Bengal BJP president, Dr Sukanta Majumdar Saturday reached Kaliaganj to protest in front of the SP’s office, where he told the media, “The main entrance to the office was locked. After 10 minutes they opened the gate as they couldn’t find the key. The SP was informed about our visit but wasn’t present here. The police are trying to cover up the incident. Lies are being spread to hide that the victim was raped and murdered. We demand a CBI probe in the case.”
“The State Child Commission has reached the spot and is looking into the matter. It is very sad that the BJP is playing politics over a dead body. They have got outsiders to Kaliaganj to influence the villagers. It is very unfortunate,” said Women and Child Development Minister, Shashi Panja while addressing a media conference on Saturday.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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