KOLKATA: A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped, who died later because of excessive bleeding, at a birthday party organised by the son of a local Trinamool Congress leader in Nadia’s Hanskhali last Tuesday and the gruesome incident came to light after the victim’s family lodged a complaint with police on Saturday night.
In a complaint lodged with Hanskhali police station, the family alleged the TMC leader and his associates forced them to cremate the body.
Police arrested Brajagopal Goala, the accused and registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The accused, the son of a local TMC dominated panchayat, was slapped with the charges of rape, murder and suppressing evidence. Police are investigating to ascertain who were the others involved in the incident.
"The family members of Brajagopal informed the girl’s parents that she fell ill at the birthday party. They were also told not to take the girl to any state-run hospital or private healthcare unit. The victim’s family took her to a quack doctor where she died,’’ said an officer of Hanskhali police station.
Police are probing the gruesome murder from multiple angles. "How could the body be cremated without a death certificate issued by an authorised doctor? Why did the family members of the TMC leader advise the girl's parents to take her to quack ?’’ a police officer said.
Elaborating on what led the victim’s family to take four days to lodge the complaint with the police, the officer said the girl’s family was threatened that if they lodge a complaint with the police, their house will be set ablaze.
As the news of the incident spread, the members of childline intervened and they took the victim’s family into confidence to lodge the complaint with the police.
The panchayat member, Samar Goala, father of the suspect, and other members of the family are at large said police.