Gaighata teen raped by neighbour, tries to kill self
Times of India | 4 November 2024
Kolkata: A Class X student returning home from a private coaching class was dragged away and raped by a neighbour at Gaighata in North 24 Parganas on Saturday after the 15-year-old girl turned down his proposal for a relationship. The incident came to light only after the rape survivor tried to kill herself, after which the youth was arrested.
The girl is undergoing treatment in Bongaon Jiban Ratan Dhar Subdivisional Hospital.
The accused, identified as Sujit Pal alias Babusona, was remanded in police custody for four days after being produced in a Bongaon court on Sunday.
According to local sources, Pal, who is married and a resident of Gaighata's Shimulpur, had been harassing the girl for almost a year and a half. Her parents and neighbours warned him repeatedly to stay away from her.
"Pal was desperate to have an illicit relationship with my daughter. He even threatened her with dire consequences if she didn't agree," the girl's father said.
On Saturday evening, while the teen was on her way home, Pal abducted her on his motorbike. "He tied her hands with her scarf and took her to an abandoned ground, where he raped her. At night, she tried to hang herself and I managed to stop her. She then broke down in tears and narrated her ordeal to me," the girl's mother said, adding that the accused's family even offered them money so that they wouldn't lodge a police complaint.
The girl's family rushed to Gaighata police station and lodged an FIR against Pal.
"Soon after receiving the complaint, we arrested the accused and produced him in court. The girl was sent to hospital for a medical examination, and her confidential statement was recorded," a senior police officer said.