Kolkata girl goes on pandal-hopping with Facebook ‘friend’, gang-raped
Times of India | 6 November 2024
Image used for representative purpose only KOLKATA: A 22-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped a day after Kali Puja after her “boyfriend”, whom she reportedly met on Facebook, allegedly spiked her drinks.
The accused initially offered to go on a pandal-hopping with her and then invited her to his residence after meeting the girl at Garia railway station on Thursday evening.
The girl was admitted to a hospital and a case was registered after she was released on Sunday. So far, two persons have been arrested, and a search is on for two more accused after the survivor stated that at least four men were involved in the crime.
According to police, the crime was committed at Narendrapur’s Dhalua. The two accused have been identified as Rajib Sardar and Rakesh Naskar.
“The victim, a resident of the Purba Jadavpur police station area in south Kolkata, became acquainted with one of the accused through social media a few weeks ago. On Nov 1, the girl left her residence to go on pandal-hopping. She then met the accused at Garia station. From there, she was taken to a house in the Dhalua area,” said police.
The victim alleged that something was mixed in her soft drinks, consuming which she became unconscious. Later, her family rescued her and admitted her to MR Bangur Hospital.
After being discharged from the hospital, the victim filed a complaint with the Narendrapur police station.
The cops stated that they would record the statement of the victim before a magistrate soon. On Tuesday, families of both the accused clai med that they were “framed”.
Cops are collecting evidence and are likely to send crucial evidence collected from the crime spot for forensic examination.
The investigating officers stated that they charged the accused under BNS sections pertaining to gang rape and confinement.
“We are collecting some crucial footage from around Garia station to ascertain the exact sequence of events. There are a few loose ends we want to tie up in this case so that we can prepare a strong charge sheet,” added a senior cop at Bhawani Bhawan.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)