A 20-year-old man was arrested on April 22 in reference to the alleged rape and homicide of a teenage girl in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district that triggered violent protests, the police mentioned.
The 17-year-old girl, whose physique was discovered in a canal in Kaliaganj police station space on Friday, knew the person, Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Sana Akhtar mentioned, figuring out him as the prime accused.
A case has been filed beneath IPC part 302 (homicide) and related sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act based mostly on the grievance filed by the girl’s mom, he mentioned.
The preliminary autopsy report revealed no harm to the physique, Akhtar mentioned, including {that a} bottle of poison was discovered close to the physique.
“We are investigating the case from all angles,” he mentioned.
Violence rocked Kaliaganj, round 18 km from the Bangladesh border, as locals protested in opposition to the incident, prompting the police to make use of tear gasoline shells and cost batons to convey the scenario beneath management, officers mentioned.
Several retailers and e-rickshaws have been set on hearth by the mob, which demanded the arrest of these behind the incident. Roads have been additionally blocked and stones have been hurled on the police, they mentioned.
The RSS-backed ABVP gheraoed the Kaliaganj police station, whereas BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar sat on a dharna exterior the SP workplace in Raiganj, demanding justice for the sufferer’s household.
Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed to convey the scenario beneath management, police mentioned, including that just a few protestors have been additionally detained.
Three individuals have been injured in the police motion and admitted to the Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital, officers mentioned.
Majumdar, who visited the sufferer’s village together with native BJP MP Debasree Chaudhuri, demanded a CBI investigation into the incident.
“We think the real truth will be revealed only if a CBI inquiry is conducted in this case,” he instructed reporters.
State Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Dr Shashi Panja hit out on the BJP management, significantly Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, for figuring out the minor in his tweets.
She alleged that the saffron social gathering leaders have been making an attempt to instigate the folks by deceptive them.
“The BJP is trying to play dirty politics. That the Leader of Opposition (LoP) has divulged the identity of the victim girl through his tweets is itself a crime. How can he do that? They are playing dead body politics (sic),” Panja mentioned.
The Minister additional mentioned the autopsy report would clear whether or not the girl was raped and killed or whether or not she died by suicide by consuming poison.
“At the moment, police are trying to bring the law and order under control. We must think about the mental condition of the family. Culprits will definitely be brought to the book,” Panja mentioned.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) additionally despatched a group to the world, and sought a report from the state police inside three days.
The girl went lacking on Thursday night after she left residence for going to her tuition courses. Her physique was discovered the subsequent day floating in a canal amid hectic searches by her household and locals.
Protests had began on Friday afternoon however quietened down by the day-end, solely to restart on Saturday.