12 Kolkata: "All I want is the rapist and murderer of my child to be hanged. The punishment should be nothing short of the death penalty," appealed the class 8 girl's father on Sunday, shortly after toto driver Soumitra Roy was arrested for committing the crime against the 14-year-old girl.
The father, a 47-year-old Inland Master in the merchant navy, said he saw the toto driver and heard what he said. "He confessed that he told my daughter he knew where she lived and would safely drop her home. Trusting him was the biggest mistake my daughter made," he said.
Earlier, the father told TOI that the girl had a tiff with her mother on Thursday evening when she was asked to study. Annoyed at her mother, she left home in a huff and was possibly heading towards her uncle's home in Baguiati. She either lost her way or was too tired to walk any more when she tried to hail a ride back home. he stressed she had never left home like this before.
"She did it just once and will now never return home. I appeal to the cops and the administration to set an example with the punishment of this man and also step up security so that no parent has to lose their child the way we lost ours," he said on Sunday.
Following the arrest, officers of New Town police station called the parents, showed them the footage, and informed them about the arrest. Incidentally, the cops promised the father on Friday that they would nab the culprit within 72 hours.
Her mother said the CCTV footage cops provided showed the presence of two more persons in the back seat as her daughter was seen sitting on the left of the driver. "The CCTV footage shows she got on the toto herself. But who knows if the driver was the only one there when she was dragged into the bushes where her body was found. The cops should investigate and check if there are more persons involved in the crime," she demanded.
When asked if the family knew the toto driver, they said they never saw him but learnt from neighbours and cops that he had recently shifted to the locality. "We learnt he is from Nadia and had recently shifted here. I have no clue if he knew my daughter or her whereabouts. But he confessed before cops that he told her he knew where she lived and promised to drop her home. I don't know if he lied just to gain her trust. We want the strictest punishment for him," the father said.