Bengal schoolgirl dies after alleged gang-rape; TMC leader’s son arrested
A 14-year-old girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped in West Bengal’s Nadia district. The victim’s family claimed that the main accused is the son of a Trinamool Congress panchayat member, who has been arrested for further investigation, police said.
According to the minor girl’s family, the incident happened last Monday (April 4) when the victim had gone to attend a birthday party at the accused’s house in Hanskhali. She had returned home unwell and died soon after, the family.
The police said the accused has been identified as Brajagopal Gayali, the son of local TMC panchayat leader Samarendra Gayali.
The parents of the minor, a Class 9 student, lodged a complaint against the accused on Saturday (April 9).
“Our daughter was bleeding profusely and had severe abdominal pain after she came back from the party at the residence of the local TMC leader’s son, and before we could take her to hospital, she died. From the sequence of events and after talking to the people present at the party, we are sure she was gang-raped by the accused and his friends,” the girl’s mother told reporters.
She also alleged that her daughter’s body was “forcefully” taken for cremation even before the death certificate was issued.
Reacting to the incident, Bengal’s Minister of Women and Child Development, Sashi Panja, said the ruling party has zero-tolerance for abuse of minors and women.
“There should not be any politics over the incident. Police will do everything possible to investigate and take further action,” she said.
BJP spokesperson Bharati Ghosh slammed the state government and questioned TMC’s “misrule” under chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Shocking ! TMC leader’s son arrested for incident of gang rape & murder of minor girl at Hanskhali, Nadia. How many more Nirvayas will be sacrificed in Bengal under the misrule of lady Chief Minister? It is our shame that we see such kind of barbarism everyday under this CM,” she tweeted.
Shocking ! TMC leader’s son arrested for incident of gang rape & murder of minor girl at Hanskhali, Nadia. How many more Nirvayas will be sacrificed in Bengal under the misrule of lady Chief Minister? It is our shame that we see such kind of barbarism everyday under this CM.
— Bharati Ghosh (@BharatiGhosh1) April 10, 2022
(With inputs from Agencies)
