A Class 9 student who was on her way home from tuition on Friday in West Bengal’s Hooghly district was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted before being dumped in a dark lane hours later. The incident has sparked a row in the state with the Opposition BJP hitting out at the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), demanding that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee step down.
While the police have lodged a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act based on the girl’s family’s complaint, Kamanasish Sen, Superintendent of Police, Hooghly Rural, said that there was no evidence of rape and the girl had been molested. A woman officer is leading the investigation, he added.
According to local sources and the girl’s family, she was abducted by unidentified individuals in a four-wheeler, taken to a secluded location, and sexually assaulted. She was found later by locals, who alerted the police. The police rushed to the scene and took the girl to a local hospital for medical treatment and to the police station subsequently for questioning.
“Investigation till now, including the medico legal opinion, has revealed that there are no suspects at this stage. Request to respect the privacy of the girl child and her family. Stern legal action will be initiated against those spreading rumours. Investigation proceeds,” West Bengal Police said in a post on their X handle.
Even as residents expressed anger and demanded swift justice for the girl, the Opposition attacked the government, which is already receiving flak following the rape and murder of a young doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
“The girl has been admitted to the local hospital. Mamata Banerjee’s police has cordoned off the hospital, media isn’t being given access and local TMC leaders are swirling around, to ensure the incident doesn’t get reported. West Bengal is the most unsafe place for women and girls. Mamata Banerjee has failed. She must step down, immediately. Enough is enough. She hasn’t even set up Fast Track Courts to handle rape and POCSO cases,” Amit Malviya, in charge of BJP’s IT cell and co-incharge of West Bengal, said in a post on X.
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