Cuffs on school teacher on suspicion of murder
The Statesman | 18 September 2025The accused, Manoj Kumar Pal, a physical science teacher, was taken into custody for the alleged murder of the girl from Rampurhat. The gruesome discovery comes nearly 20 days after the girl went missing in the evening of 28 August while on her way to private tuition.
Birbhum superintendent of police Amandeep told reporters that local residents found a plastic sack containing human remains in the forested area of Banhat gram panchayat, under Rampurhat police station. The victim’s family had earlier lodged an FIR against the teacher, accusing him of abducting and killing the child.
“The almost decomposed body has been sent to Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. At this stage it is difficult to determine the exact cause of death, but the body had been cut into several pieces with a sharp weapon. We are awaiting the post-mortem report,” the SP said.
Police arrested Pal from his home and produced him before the Rampurhat Sub-Divisional Court today, seeking custody for further interrogation and investigation.
The victim’s family alleged that the teacher regularly harassed the girl, abducted her, and allegedly raped and murdered her. Police have registered cases of abduction and murder. They noted, however, that it is challenging to establish whether she was sexually assaulted before the murder, as the body parts have badly decomposed due to the monsoon rains.
Investigators believe the murder took place some time ago, given the advanced state of decomposition. Forensic experts have collected samples from the scene, a secluded area near a waterbody surrounded by forest and low-lying land rarely visited by locals.
