Fresh violence erupted at Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal on Saturday over the alleged rape and murder of a teenage girl even as the prime accused has been arrested in the case. Police fired tear gas shells to bring the situation under control and have deployed more forces in the area.
Several shops and e-rickshaws were set on fire by the mob, which demanded the arrest of all those behind the incident. Roads were also blocked and stones were hurled at the police, they said.
Police arrested the 20-year-old man on Saturday and identified him as the prime accused in the case. A case has been filed under IPC section 302 (murder) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The 17-year-old girl, a resident of Gangua village of the district, went missing on Thursday evening after she went for her tuition classes and could not be traced the entire night, despite extensive searches by her family members and local people. Her body was recovered from a canal on Friday morning.
Media reports claimed that the police dragged the body of the girl while sending it for postmortem, triggering a massive outrage. The National Commission for Women has asked the West Bengal DGP to ensure a fair and time-bound investigation in the case and also to take stringent action against the erring police officers who allegedly dragged the body.
Meanwhile, a political blame game has also erupted with the opposition BJP targeting the state government and demanding a CBI probe into the incident.
“Police have changed the case, they are not listening to the villagers. They termed the case as a suicide. But several pieces of evidence were received that prove a rape was committed. We want a CBI investigation in this case and we also demand justice for the victim,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.
On Friday, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari alleged "lawlessness" in the state and held the state police "responsible" for the crime.
Posting a video of locals guarding a body covered by a white sheet, the senior BJP leader also alleged that the police were busy in making security arrangements for the proposed trip of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to the district next month.
State Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Dr Shashi Panja hit out at the BJP leadership, accusing them trying to instigate the people by misleading 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 said.
